Love Heals All
by Loveable-Chelle23
Summary: It's after the Winter War, Aizen is defeated, but at an extremely heavy price, now Kisuke must try to save Ichigo before it's to late. Multiple pairings. Main pairing Kisuke/Ichigo Rated M for future chapters
1. After the War

**Declaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters.**

**Pairings: Kisuke x Ichigo, Ukitake ****x Shunsui, Renji x Byakuya, Kira x Shuuhei, Ikkaku x Yumichika, Grimmjow x Chad, Rukia x Orihime, Yoruichi x Soifon, Shinji x Nel, and Gin x Rangiku, Uryu x Hitsugaya **

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**Chapter 1: After the War**

Kisuke was sitting at his table when he saw something move out of the corner of his eyes. He knew who it was so he didn't get offensive. When the figure came into view it was none other is dear friend Isshin Kurosaki. He also knew why he was here.

"Hey Kisuke, how are ya?" Isshin asked trying to be his usually excited self but failing.

"I'm okay, just waiting to hear from Soul Society." Kisuke said worried.

Just then a Hell Butterfly came through the window and landed on Urahara's hand. The mask that he wore so well was suddenly cracked with worry. He looked up at Isshin and Isshin looked back at him.

"We are needed on the front line immediately." Kisuke said getting up and running out of the door.

"Okay but why now." Isshin said getting out of his gigai.

"They said they would explain when we got there." Kisuke said using shunpo when he got outside.

When they arrived it was utter chaos. They couldn't believe the destruction the war had caused. There was bodies everywhere. But that was not what bothered them. What bothered them was that they couldn't sense Ichigo's reiatsu here. They saw Captain Ukitake with several people. Kisuke knew all of them as friends of Ichigo. They ran over to Captain Ukitake and the others almost getting run over by Division 4 healers that were trying to save everyone that had be hurt. Standing with Captain Ukitake was Kira, Rukia, Captain Zaraki, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Captain Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Chad, Orihime, Shuuhei, Captain Shunsui, Shinji, Yoruichi, Captain Soifon, Head Captain Yamamoto, Captain Unohana, and Uryu.

"Captain Ukitake what was so important that you needed the both of us?" Isshin asked before Kisuke could.

"Well we need your help trying to find your son Isshin." Captain Ukitake said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Kisuke asked really worried now.

"Well you see he was fighting Aizen, and well they suddenly took their fight someplace else before anyone could stop them." Captain Ukitake said looking sad and scared.

"Damn that boy, why would he do that?" Isshin asked getting angry with his hot-headed son.

"We believe he did it so that no one would get hurt if he and Aizen used their full power. But that has been several hours ago. We would have started looking sooner but the fighting has just stopped, Gin surrendered and we found out that he was working as a spy. We must find Ichigo and Aizen and put an end to this war fast." Captain Ukitake said urgently.

"Fine, but we should split up into pairs." Kisuke said taking charge.

"That works." Isshin said.

"So who is pairing with who?" Shuuhei asked curiously.

"This will be the pairings. Captain Ukitake with Captain Shunsui, Rukia with Isshin, Captain Zaraki with Yachiru, Ikkaku with Yumichika, Renji with Captain Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya with Rangiku, Chad with Orihime, Shuuhei with Shinji, Yoruichi with Captain Soifon, Head Captain Yamamoto with Captain Unohana, Ishida will go alone since he prefers it that way, and Kira will go with me." Kisuke named off the pairs quickly.

"If anyone finds Ichigo, please send a signal so that we know and that I can immediately come to heal him." Captain Unohana said calmly but with authority.

"Lets go Kira." Kisuke said heading towards the woods.

Kira nodded and followed after Kisuke. The others watched them leave. They all knew how Kisuke felt about Ichigo even Isshin knew. They knew that he was taking this hard. Everyone knew that Ichigo never just vanished without a reason. But they was curious as to why Kisuke had picked Kira to go with him instead of Isshin. Even Isshin was curious about his choice. They all let it go for now. There was more important things to worry about so they all split up to look for Ichigo.

"What do you think will happen if Urahara finds Ichigo first and he is in really bad shape?" Yumichika asked Ikkaku.

"I don't know, but I just hope that he don't lose his head if Ichigo is hurt really bad." Ikkaku sighed.

"Yes well I just hope that this war hasn't effected him mentally." Yumichika sighed.

"What do you mean Yumi?" Ikkaku asked confused.

"Well he is strong, but so young. We shouldn't have to rely on him to end this war. I just don't want to see the effect it might have on him." Yumichika sighed sadly.

"I know what you mean. He grows on a person. There is just something about him that everyone is drawn too." Ikkaku thought out loud.

"So you noticed that too. I will fill sorry for Urahara if this war has affected Ichigo the way I think it has." Yumichika sighed sadly again.

Everyone was really worried about Ichigo. They all knew he was young and never should have been brought into this war, but they had no choice he was very strong and they needed strong people right now.

"I'm worried what this war will do to Ichigo." Captain Unohana stated to Head Captain Yamamoto.

"I know I'm worried too." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"I also hope that Kisuke doesn't find him first." She stated again.

"Why is that?" He asked curious.

"Because it is never good to see the person you love, suffering and traumatized by something like war." She sighed sadly.

"Yes that would be most unfortunate." He sighed.

"But I also hope that Isshin and Rukia don't find him first either." She sighed.

"I agree, a father should never see their child like that. But something else has me worried as well." He said.

"What would that be?" She asked curiously.

"I have a bad feeling that something more than this war may have traumatized Ichigo." He stated sadly.

"I see, well lets hope that's not true for everyone's sake." She said hopefully.

Kisuke and Kira had been running for awhile now, but decided to take a break for a minute. They were sitting in the shade of a large tree. They had no clue as to where to look for Ichigo.

"I really hope that Ichigo is alright." Kira finally said.

"Me too. I really hope that I find my Ichi soon." Kisuke sighed.

"You love him that much?" Kira asked curiously.

"Yes, very much. I don't want to see him hurt. I also never want to seen a frown on his face again. Seeing a frown on his face can break a persons heart." Kisuke sighed sadly.

"I know what you mean, someone like him should never have to frown." Kira stated.

"That is very true. You want to know something funny." Kisuke smiled.

"Sure." Kira tried to smile.

"I get really jealous sometimes." Kisuke laughed.

"Really why?" Kira was curious now.

"Because my dear Ichigo has a way of drawing people to him and not ever realize what he is doing." Kisuke laughed.

"Yes I know what you mean. There is something that draws people to him. He has a way of making you think that everything will end the right way. He is definitely a one of a kind. To be honest I'm kind of jealous of you Urahara." Kira laughed shyly.

"Really why?" Kisuke was curious.

"Because you have someone like Ichigo. He is extremely special in so many different ways. I just wish I had someone like that. I would love to have someone who could brighten the world around them. To have someone that could put a smile on anyone's face with only a few words or actions." Kira sighed.

"I never knew anyone but me saw that in Ichigo." Kisuke laughed.

"Urahara, to be honest we all see it. That is why we are all looking for him, because we want to be able to smile all the time and to know that everything will be okay in the end. He really is a ray of hope to everyone and nobody wants to lose that kind of hope." Kira smiled.

"I do believe your right." Kisuke smiled. "Shall we continue to search for him now?"

"Yes, sir." Kira smiled.

So they got up and continued through the woods. Suddenly with any warning at all they both felt Ichigo's reiatsu flare up dangerously high. They knew in that moment they were in the right place. But they couldn't understand why it was so high. Was he in trouble. They took off running at full speed towards the reiatsu. Kisuke was worried and extremely scared at what they would find. Kira wondered if anyone else had felt Ichigo's reiatsu spike like it did. He hoped for Kisuke's and everyone's sake that Ichigo was okay.

"Kira we have to hurry. I have a really bad feeling about this." Kisuke shouted.

"Yes, sir." Kira agreed.

They continued to run as fast as they could. Ichigo's reiatsu spiked again. Kira was wondering what was going on just a minute ago no one could feel Ichigo's reiatsu but now it was spiking every several minutes. Something wasn't right about this Kira thought. Something is terrible wrong. When they got to where they felt Ichigo's reiatsu they were horrified at what they saw. They saw blood everywhere. They saw Aizen's body laying close by so they walked over to it. They could tell just by looking that he was dead. So Ichigo had killed him, but where was Ichigo. That when they heard pained screams close by. They froze in their tracks. Kisuke knew that voice and took off running towards a rock wall. Kira ran after him worried that he wasn't going to be able to handle what he saw. When they got to Ichigo it was worse than Kira feared. Every part of Ichigo was covered in blood. He had cuts and bruises every where on his body. What was worse was that his clothes were missing. Kisuke dropped to his knees beside Kira. He started to cry and crawl over to Ichigo.

"Ichi?" Kisuke whispered.

"Urahara are you okay?" Kira asked worried.

"Ichi answer me please." Kisuke whispered getting ready reach out to Ichigo when he looked up.

"Oh no." Kira said shocked.

When Ichigo looked up Kisuke and Kira were frozen because his once lively eyes were lifeless. They held no emotion like they once did. When Kisuke tried to reach out and touch Ichigo he flinched. This made Kisuke cry even more. What could have happened to do this to the once lively and hot-headed teen. Kira could take a guess but he didn't want to. This really was worse than he thought it would be.

"Ichi?" Kisuke whispered again.

"Ki…su…ke." Ichigo breathed out harshly.

"Yes Ichi it's me. I'm here." Kisuke whispered with a small smile.

"Kisuke…I'm…scared." Ichigo whispered.

"I know Ichi but I'm here. I wont let anything touch I promise." Kisuke reached out again and he didn't flinch away.

"I'm cold Kisuke. Please I'm cold and tired." Ichigo started to shake and cried into Kisuke chest.

"I know Ichi. But you have to stay awake okay." Kisuke said rubbing his back gently.

"Urahara, what do you want me to do." Kira asked sadly.

"Go find his clothes please. If anyone else felt his spike in reiatsu then they will come, but I don't want them to see him like this." Kisuke said not leaving Ichigo.

"Yes, sir." Kira said walking way to find the clothes.

"Kisuke I tried to stop him, but he was so strong and I was tired. I was finally able to stab him through the heart and I crawled away. But I couldn't stop him I'm sorry Urahara." Ichigo cried some more.

"It's not your fault Ichi. I don't blame you. I'm here no one will touch you again okay." Kisuke said trying not to cry.

"I'm so tired Urahara. Can I go to sleep yet please?" Ichigo asked tiredly.

"Not yet my dear Ichi. Not yet okay." Kisuke said getting worried.

Kira finally came back at that point with Ichigo's clothes and handed them to Kisuke. Kira really wanted to collapse to his knees and cry. It wasn't fair. He kept asking why Ichigo. Why did it have to be him.

"Ichi is it okay if Kira helps me with your clothes?" Kisuke asked gently.

"Yeah, but that's all nothing else." Ichigo said scared.

"Okay, all he is going to do is put on your top okay. I will put on your bottoms okay?" Kisuke asked.

"Okay." Ichigo whispered.

"Kira come help please. I can sense the others coming quickly." Kisuke said calmly.

"Yes sir." Kira came over and put on Ichigo's top but he still flinched at the closeness.

About five minutes after they got his clothes on everyone came to where they were. They stopped in their tracks though when they saw the sight of Ichigo. Isshin was the first to pull it together and went towards his son who was laying against Kisuke. When he went to touch his son he flinched away. This shocked Isshin to his soul. He then looked at Kisuke for help. He didn't understand. Then he nearly had a heart attack when he saw how dead his son's eyes were.

"Oh god Kisuke what the hell happened to my son." Isshin's voice was cracking.

"A lot more than anyone can imagine Isshin." Kisuke choked.

At this point Ikkaku and Kira pulled the emotional Isshin away. Nobody knew what to say or do. Captain Unohana finally stepped forward slowly and gently trying not to scare the teen.

"Ichigo is it okay if I touch you to heal your wounds." Captain Unohana said as gently as possible.

Ichigo only nodded his head to scared to talk. But everyone still saw him flinch even at her gentlest touch. This was not everyone's favorite person. This was just his shell. Yumichika looked at Captain Zaraki and Ikkaku with tears in his eyes. Rukia was hugging Isshin trying to calm him down. Shuuhei and Shinji were to shocked to say or do anything. Chad and Ishida were trying to calm down Orihime. Captain Soifon was trying desperately to consol Yoruichi who was on her knees crying. Captain Hitsugaya was shocked beyond compare. Rangiku was with Orihime crying her eyes out. Renji was trying to help Rukia calm Isshin down. Captain Zaraki went into complete shock when he saw Ichigo's eyes. Ikkaku was trying to calm down Yumichika. Captain Byakuya was in shock but didn't show it. Captain Shunsui was trying to calm Captain Ukitake down before he got sick again. Head Captain Yamamoto was trying to hold back his tears. He was also trying to help calm Captain Ukitake down.

"Well I have healed him as best as I can. Now all we can do is wait." Captain Unohana sighed sadly.

"Kisuke can I go to sleep now?" Ichigo asked with a dead voice with made everyone feel worse.

"Yes dear Ichi you can sleep now." Kisuke whispered.

"Please don't leave me." Ichigo whispered falling asleep.

"I wont I promise. You just rest now okay." He whispered.

"Where should we take him?" Kira asked walking up on the other side of Ichigo.

"We are taking him home." Isshin yelled angrily.

"I think he should go to the Soul Society." Renji said sadly.

"I think I would have to agree with Renji." Captain Unohana sighed.

"But you can't." Kira stated angrily.

"Why the hell not Kira?" Rukia snapped.

"Because I have seen how he has been the only person that can even touch him without him flinching. Nobody else can even get near him not even his own father. You take him to the Soul Society away from Urahara and there is no telling what would happen if he woke up. I have seen it personally to know that you can't take him away from Urahara. Damn it don't you all see he is broken and the only person that can maybe fix him is Urahara, but all of you are wanting to take him away." Kira was yelling at all of them.

Everyone was shocked that Kira of all people was yelling. Everyone could see how angry he was. Nobody could say anything for several minutes.

"Fine then Kira what do you propose we should do?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.

"I think we should let him stay with Urahara. I think Urahara, Ichigo, and a few others should move to some place quite so that Urahara could help Ichigo get better. The other few that should go should only go to help keep watch over Ichigo but not have to much contact with him. They would be more like bodyguards." Kira said.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Captain Ukitake said with a small smile.

"I agree." Captain Shunsui said.

"But what about Urahara's shop. He can't just leave it." Renji stated.

"I can leave it in Tessai's hands." Kisuke finally spoke up.

"But how many bodyguards do propose they should have?" Captain Zaraki asked curiously.

Kira looked at Kisuke and they both said at the same time. "We think that there should be at least 6 people."

"Why so many?" Captain Unohana asked curiously.

"Because at least one person with have to help Urahara and the others will keep guard around the house." Kira said looking at Kisuke and Ichigo.

"Okay, but who should be the one person that helps Urahara with Ichigo. You said it yourself he wont let anyone else near him?" Renji asked curiously.

"It will be me." Kira said flatly.

"Why the hell should it be you." Rukia yelled.

"Because he let Kira get close to him for a minute." Kisuke said flatly.

"Then who do you propose the other five people should be?" Ikkaku asked.

"Well I think it should be…" Kira began.

"We think it should be Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Rukia, and Shuuhei." Kisuke finished for Kira.

"You both have thought about this haven't you." Captain Ukitake laughed half-heartedly.

"Yes from the moment we found him until before you all got here." Kira and Kisuke said.

Then everyone turned to Head Captain Yamamoto. "I think we can all agree that the only person that can really touch Ichigo is Kisuke. I personally don't want to keep Ichigo away from him for the simple fact that Kira is right. We could do more harm than good if Ichigo was to wake up and Kisuke was not there. I also agree with the rest of Kira's idea. But I will want weekly reports on his progress as well. We will even help get a house big enough to house everyone. But I would also like to add one more person to the list."

"Who?" Kisuke asked worried.

"I would like Captain Gin to go along as well." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"I can agree to that." Kisuke said with a small smile.

"NO! I wont let this happen." Isshin yelled.

"Isshin it's the only way." Captain Ukitake pleaded.

"No he is my son he should be with his father and sisters." Isshin yelled.

"But Isshin you can't even get near him." Captain Shunsui stated.

"I can. He is my son and he is going home with me." Isshin yelled again.

"Isshin you can't do that. You could cause more harm than good trying to get close to him like that." Captain Unohana stated flatly.

"NO! He is going home with his father." Isshin snapped.

"Enough. Isshin get a hold of yourself. He will go with Kisuke and the other out in the country. Nobody but me, the Captains, and the ones that are at the house will know where it is. I will be given weekly reports on his recovery and progress. I'm sure that he has even shut out his Hollow and Zangetsu at this point. Which means that he will more than likely have to relearn Zangetsu's name, but I'm more than positive that the Hollow will still be there. But if his condition should worsen I will have no choice but have him executed on the spot, because he could become a danger. Am I understood by all that are here." Head Captain Yamamoto said sternly.

"Yes, Head Captain Yamamoto." Everyone said.

"Good, now all that are going with Kisuke and Ichigo are to follow me now." Head Captain Yamamoto said walking away.

Everyone that was mentioned followed him. Kira stayed behind to help Kisuke with Ichigo. Kira grab Zangetsu and followed closely behind Kisuke. Kira was feeling a little bit guilt about the whole mess. He felt bad for Isshin and everyone that was not allowed to go with them. But he really felt bad for Kisuke. It must be heart breaking to see your love in this kind of state. If he was Kisuke he didn't know if he could handle it or not. He was completely in awe at how Kisuke could wear his mask right now. They was walking some ways behind everyone else.

"Urahara you know it's okay to cry. They wont see you or think any less of you if you did right now." Kira said politely.

"Yes I know Kira, but I need to be strong for Ichigo." Kisuke said with a small crack in his voice.

"I see, but the Ichigo that I have come to know doesn't want people worrying or trying to be strong for him. He sees it as he is suppose to be strong for everyone around him." Kira stated.

"Yes I know but right now he needs people to be strong for him and not the other way around. I want and need to be strong for him." Kisuke said lightly.

"I really want to be of some help. I feel so useless right now. He has done so much for everyone, but it feels like there is nothing I or anyone can do for him." Kira sighed.

"Just being there for him is more that enough help for him." Kisuke looked back at Kira and smiled.

"Do you think we should catch up to the others now?" Kira asked.

"That might be wise to do." Kisuke stated, but just then Kira and Urahara got a big shock. Standing in front of them was none other than Zangetsu.

"Zangetsu what are you doing here?" Kisuke asked shocked.

"**I'm worried about Ichigo." Zangetsu said.**

"Why?" Kira asked confused.

"**I can't seem to communicate with him." Zangetsu sighed.**

"What do you mean can't communicate with him. You have never had that problem before." Kisuke stated worriedly.

"**Trust me I know. Not even his Hollow can communicate with him." Zangetsu stated.**

"That's totally impossible." Kisuke stated bluntly.

"**Kisuke listen to me. Ichigo's inner world is raining really bad. It's to the point where it is flooding." Zangetsu stated seriously.**

"How is that possible?" Kira asked shocked and confused.

"Has he been traumatized that bad Zangetsu?" Kisuke asked scared.

"**Yes, it is worse than even your mind can imagine Kisuke." Zangetsu said sadly.**

"How long?" Kisuke chocked.

"How long for what?" Kira asked confused.

"**At the rate of the flooding, maybe six months to a year. Me and the Hollow are trying to hold back the flooding but it's not working. " Zangetsu sighed.**

"That's not long at all." Kisuke sighed.

"**Kisuke you must not let the rain get worse. If the rain gets any worse the time will be even shorter than that." Zangetsu warned.**

"I understand. You have my word that I will not let it get worse and that I will try to get the rain to stop for you." Kisuke promised.

"**I have faith in you Kisuke. But be warned he may never be the same Ichigo again." Zangetsu bowed and then faded away.**

"Uh….Urahara what was Zangetsu talking about?" Kira asked confused.

"You know how we all have inner worlds right?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes." Kira said.

"Well Ichigo told me about his once." Kisuke said fondly.

"Really, I bet it's cool." Kira said getting a small smile on his face.

"Well I wouldn't say that but it is really strange." Kisuke laughed.

"How so?" Kira asked curiously.

"Well you see he told me that his inner world was full of sky scrappers." Kisuke said.

"What's so strange about that?" Kira asked confused.

"Nothing really, except that his whole inner world is side ways." Kisuke chuckled.

"Well that is strange." Kira chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, but the worst part is his inner world is highly connected to his emotions." Kisuke sighed.

"So what does that me exactly?" Kira asked confused.

"It means when he is depressed, stressed, or traumatized then it rains really bad, but it should never flood." Kisuke said confused.

"But if it shouldn't be able to flood then how is it happening?" Kira asked even more confused.

"I think that he is far worse than we a regionally thought Kira, but for now I want this to stay between just us. If it is worse then they will just want to execute him without trying to help him." Kisuke said flatly.

"I understand completely." Kira smiled at him. "My lips are sealed until you are ready to tell anyone."

"Thank you." Kisuke smiled lightly.

"Your welcome Urahara." Kira smiled.

"Kira please just call me Kisuke." Kisuke laughed.

"Yes, sir." Kira laughed as well.

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**I hope you liked it so far. ^_^**

**Please Review and tell me what you think**


	2. Picking the House

**Chapter 2: Picking the House**

"Kisuke we have to stop and pick up Gin so hurry up." Head Captain Yamamoto yelled back at them.

"Yes, sir. Where are we going after that?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"We are going to go find a suitable house for everyone to stay in." Head Captain Yamamoto said.

"If it's not to much trouble could we get a house out in the country." Kisuke asked politely.

"That wont be a problem." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed looking back at the sleeping Ichigo.

"Thank you Head Captain." Kisuke genuinely smiled.

"Your welcome. I would do anything to make sure that he survives this. In fact Kisuke after we find the house I would like to speak to you alone." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"Yes sir." Kisuke replied.

When they finally got back to where they had begun the search they saw Gin. He was standing by himself watching everything around him. He looked a little lonely standing there. To everyone it looked kind of sad. They went over to him and he smiled.

"Gin you will be going with Kisuke and everyone else to help protect and take care of Ichigo." Head Captain Yamamoto stated firmly.

"My my what has happened to Ichigo?" Gin asked curiously.

"A lot that will be explained to later and more privately Gin." Head Captain Yamamoto stated flatly.

"I see then we should be going then don't ya think." Gin chuckled.

"By the way Head Captain did you all see what Ichigo did to Aizen?" Kisuke asked.

"No all we saw was a lot of blood in the area, but we never saw Aizen's body. So we just thought that maybe Ichigo was either hurt really bad or to be honest dead. Why do you ask?" Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"I'm sorry but how could you miss the body. It was very noticeable." Kisuke wondered.

"It was missed because it was not there." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"I'm sorry what do you mean it was not there?" Kira asked confused.

"I mean that there was not body in the area." Head Captain Yamamoto stated with a small sigh.

"That impossible, a dead body can not move." Kira stated.

"Are you sure that there was a body laying there?" Head Captain Yamamoto asked concerned.

"Yes we are positive that there was a body." Kira and Kisuke said at the same time.

"This has just got even more complicated. When we get to the house everyone will have to be even more on guard when it comes to protecting Ichigo." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"Yes, sir." Everyone said bowing.

"Good now lets go." Head Captain Yamamoto said walking away.

Everyone followed after him. As they followed they all looked back at Ichigo who was still asleep in Kisuke's arms. They were all worried about him. They didn't want anything to happen to Ichigo but they new that they couldn't beat Aizen. They were also worried about Ichigo's health mentally and physically. They all hoped that Aizen was dead but if not they really hoped that he wouldn't come after Ichigo. They suddenly started hearing Ichigo whimper.

"No, please don't." Ichigo started to yell and squirming in Kisuke's arms.

"Ichigo wake up come on wake up." Kisuke said in his ear.

"No don't touch me. Get off of me please." Ichigo started to cry and squirm harder.

"Ichigo you have to wake up now." Kisuke said worried stopping.

"Urahara what's going on?" Ikkaku asked coming up beside him.

"I don't know I think that he is having a nightmare about what happened." Kisuke stated worried.

"Please please don't touch me. It hurts stop please." Ichigo cried squirming so hard he fell out of Kisuke's arms heading for the ground.

"No Ichigo." Kisuke said trying to grab Ichigo but missed by inches.

"I got him don't worry." Renji said catching Ichigo before he hit the ground.

"No let go of me. It hurts. Your tearing me in half stop please. I can't take it anymore please just let me go." Ichigo suddenly snaps awake scared.

"Ichigo are you okay?" Renji asked worried.

"No let me go." Ichigo says struggling in Renji's arms and hitting him.

"Ichigo please calm down it me Renji. I'm not going to hurt you." Renji said wincing at being hit.

"Ichigo calm down. It's okay no one here is going to hurt you I promise." Kisuke said coming up beside Renji.

"Kisuke." Ichigo said looking at the worried blonde.

"Yes, Ichi it's me." Kisuke smiled.

"Kisuke it hurt so much. I tried to get away. I tried to fight back but I couldn't get out of the binding spell." Ichigo cried jumping into Kisuke's arms.

"I know it's okay. It's all over now your safe and with friends." Kisuke sighed.

"Did I kill Aizen. I can't remember. It's all blank. I was just remember being scared." Ichigo started shaking.

"We don't know for sure yet, but we will keep you safe I promise." Kisuke whispered kindly.

"I feel tired again Kisuke." Ichigo yawned.

"Then go back to sleep I will be here when you wake up." Kisuke smiled.

"Okay." Ichigo said falling back to sleep.

"Kisuke did Aizen do what I think he did to Ichigo?" Renji asked worried.

"Yes, and probably more." Kisuke sighed.

"If he ain't dead then I'm going to kill him." Renji stated angrily.

"We all will." Ikkaku said angrily also.

"Let get the house before he wakes up like that again shall we." Gin said.

"Yes lets keep moving." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed taking off again.

They all started following again not realizing that they was being followed. They shunpoed as fast as they could, but it was hard for Kisuke to when he was carrying Ichigo's sleeping body. They stopped to rest for a few minutes in a wooded area hoping not to be noticed by any Hollows. Finally Shuuhei got the feeling that they was being watched. It made him nervous to say the least.

"Hey does anyone else get the feeling we are being watched." Shuuhei asked curiously.

"Now that you mention it I do." Yumichika stated standing next to him.

"Lets go scout it out then." Shuuhei said looking at Yumichika.

"Okay." Yumichika said taking off in one direction while Shuuhei went in another.

They looked around the surrounding area. They couldn't feel any strange reiatsu, but they didn't know if the person was hiding their reiatsu. When they couldn't find anyone they decided to head back to the group. Shuuhei suddenly saw a green blur go by heading for the group that was waiting for them.

"Shit what was that?" Shuuhei asked himself taking off at a run.

On his way back he met up with Yumichika. He told him what he had saw and they raced back to the group. They were worried that it was an attack by someone unknown. When they got back to the group they heard crying and thought it was Ichigo again.

"What's going on?" Yumichika asked running up to everyone.

"Well this little arrancar came out of now where." Gin laughed lightly.

"Why is she here?" Shuuhei asked.

"We was just about to find out." Ikkaku said.

" My my Nel what are you doing here?" Gin asked curiously.

"Nel was worried about my Itsygo." Nel cried.

"What do you mean Nel?" Gin asked.

"I felt something was wrong with Itsygo so I came looking for him. Now where is my Itsygo." Nel demanded.

"Now is really not the time to bother him Nel." Gin stated calmly.

"GIVE ME MY ITSYGO NOW." Nel started to yell which it turned woke up Ichigo.

"Kisuke who is yelling so loud." Ichigo asked yawning.

"Itsygo." Nel said excitedly jumping at Ichigo.

"No stay way don't touch me." Ichigo screamed scared.

"Nel now really isn't the time to try and cling to Ichigo." Gin sighed catching Nel.

"Ichigo it's okay just calm down." Kisuke said rubbing his back trying to calm him down.

When Ichigo had finally calmed down he had went back to sleep. Kisuke smiled sadly and looked at the little arrancar. She looked really confused about what is going on with Ichigo. Then she started to cry. It broke Kisuke's heart to see the girl to cry.

"Gin what has happened to my Itsygo." Nel cried.

"Nel I really can't answer that." Gin sighed.

"Why not?" Nel asked confused.

"Because I don't have to answer dear." Gin smiled sadly.

"We need to keep moving." Rukia stated looking around.

"Yes we do now lets go." Head Captain Yamamoto said walking away again.

They all got up to follow Head Captain Yamamoto. Kisuke picked up Ichigo again and walked way. Gin carried Nel as they followed Head Captain Yamamoto. They all hoped there would be no more interruptions. They were really wanting to get Ichigo to the house before something really bad did happen. They also didn't know what to do with the little arrancar. They didn't even know what kind of connection she had to Ichigo with the exception of Gin who did know.

"Gin what exactly is Nel's connection to Ichigo?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"Lets put it this way. It's much Yachiru's connection to Captain Zaraki. It's kind of she sees him as a father. Right Nel?" Gin asked looking down at Nel with a smile.

"Yes. Itsygo is really important to me. I wont leave his side no matter what. He protected me when he didn't have to. He never left me behind unless it was to dangerous for me to be around." Nel smiled happily.

"I see. I guess we will have an extra person staying with us then." Kisuke sighed.

"Yes, I wont leave Itsygo." Nel stated firmly.

"So not only are we going to be pretty much bodyguards but now we are going to be babysitters." Ikkaku sighed angrily.

"Sorry but it looks like it." Kisuke laughed.

"Oh great." Renji sighed.

When they finally caught up to Head Captain Yamamoto he was standing in front of a very large house. They all stared in awe at it. The house had a least 3 floors plus a basement. It had a beautiful cherry wood wrap around porch. It looked like it had a least 3 fireplaces. The siding looked like snow it was so white. It had blood red shutters around all the windows. The chimneys were made out of brick. They loved the outside of the house at first sight. They wanted to see the inside of the house.

"Is this going to be the house we are staying at?" Shuuhei asked in awe.

"It's a possibility." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"Well lets go in and see the inside." Renji said excitedly.

"I will just stay out here with Ichigo, so that I can set him down." Kisuke said walking over to a tree and sitting down.

They all felt bad for being excited when Kisuke couldn't be. They all sighed and looked guilty. Kisuke smiled at them and waved for them to go. They knew he was more worried about Ichigo than he was the house. So they went in the house and they were amazed by what they saw.

"Man Ichigo and Kisuke would love this place." Renji said excited.

"I would have to agree." Yumichika smiled.

"Very well then this will be the house." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

They all went back outside to see Kisuke and Ichigo. When they got outside they saw that Ichigo was awake. It made them all happy to see that he was awake for now. But they was also shocked because he was actually smiling. He was looking at Kisuke with the smile that they all loved to see. It didn't last though when he saw them. He went back to frowning. His eyes were still dead looking even if he had smiled.

"Kisuke and Ichigo this will be the house that everyone will be staying at." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"Yes sir." Ichigo said flatly.

Kisuke and everyone frowned. Kisuke had hoped that maybe he would show a little emotion but apparently he was wrong. Everyone else wanted to know that maybe he was getting better but they could see it was going to take more time.

"I will take care of paying for the house. I just want you to worry about getting better Ichigo. I want you to make sure he gets better and send me weekly reports on his progress Kisuke. As for the rest of you I want you to make sure that Kisuke and Ichigo are protected and have everything that they need." Head Captain Yamamoto stated with authority.

"Yes sir." They all said in unison.

"That will be all. I have to be getting back to Soul Society. I also have to look into seeing if Aizen is dead or alive. When I find out I will let you all know so that you will be on guard." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"Aizen's not dead." Ichigo said with fear showing some emotion though everyone didn't want the first emotion to be fear.

"We do not know for sure." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"But I killed him. I watched him die. His body was only a few yards from where Kisuke and Kira found me." Ichigo said starting to shake.

"We did not see a body anywhere in the area." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed in defeat.

"But that's not possible a body does not just get up and walk away." Ichigo's voice was starting to crack.

"I'm sorry but I really must insist that we stop talking about this Head Captain. Ichigo is under enough stress as it is please don't make him worse before I can make him better." Kisuke tried to say in his usual sing-song voice but fair miserably.

"Very well I can see that it is starting to affect him so I will not say any more on the matter until I know more about it and when he is more than capable of handling the information. Kira could you please escort Ichigo to his room. I must speak to Kisuke in private you all are dismissed." Head Captain Yamamoto demanded.

"Ichigo can you go with Kira so that I can talk to the Head Captain. I will be right there after that okay." Kisuke asked sweetly.

"Sure." Ichigo said in that dead voice again.

Ichigo followed Kira into the house and everyone else followed after them. Head Captain Yamamoto and Kisuke walked a few yards way from the house to make sure no one over heard them talking.

"What would you like to speak about Head Captain?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"First off I would like to know if you think Ichigo will make a full recovery?" Head Captain Yamamoto asked.

"Yes, I believe he will with all my heart." Kisuke smiled.

"Then that brings me to my next statement. When he is doing better me and the other captains have agreed that he should be made captain of the 9th division. We have also agreed that you should be reinstated as a captain as well. You will be captain of the 12th division again seeing as Captain Kurotsuchi was killed in battle." Head Captain Yamamoto stated.

"I see. Well that is good news. I will gladly except if and only if Ichigo also excepts." Kisuke smiled.

"Very well. When he is feeling better tell him of the offer but only when he is better than he is right now." Head Captain Yamamoto commanded walking away.

"Yes sir." Kisuke said walking back to the house to be with Ichigo before he got to scared.

When he walked in to the house he saw Kira coming down the stairs with a sad look on his face. Ichigo must have sent him away to scared to have even Kira to close to him. This was breaking his heart. He hoped that Ichigo did get better because he knew that Ichigo would except the Captains position and that also meant that he could except the position that way they could be together forever. When Kira saw Kisuke he motioned for him to follow him, so he did. He followed Kira all the way to a very spacious dinning room that had a long table that could fit everyone that was staying at the house plus a few guests. He sat down in one of the chairs while Kira sat down in the one across from him. Everyone else at that point came in and sat down in one of the chairs.

"So what did the Head Captain have to say?" Renji and Rukia asked curiously trying to break the silence.

"Well to put it bluntly. He offered Ichigo the Captains position of the 9th division and me my old position as captain of the 12th division. But Ichigo can only except it or know about when he is much better than he is right now." Kisuke sighed.

"So we can't tell him about this." Ikkaku sighed.

"That would be correct." Kisuke chuckled.

"Do you think he will except when he is better?" Shuuhei asked curiously.

"Yes, I really do believe he will. I don't see him not. He thinks very highly of all of you. He even considers you all his friends." Kisuke smiled.

"I think it would be nice to be Ichigo's Vice-Captain even though he is younger than me." Shuuhei laughed.

"Yes, well he maybe younger than you but he is hell of a lot stronger than you and all the captains with is kind of sad to say." Yumichika sighed.

"Yes, that is very true he is stronger than most of us ever thought to be, but he does not brag about it or flaunt that power like Aizen did." Gin stated.

"The only reason we know he is stronger is because he can't control that damn reiatsu of his." Renji laughed.

"Yes that is very true." Kisuke also laughed.

"But he is not doing so good." Kira sighed sadly.

That statement made everyone frown and stop any and all conversations they were having. They all looked up at the ceiling praying to whatever god there was that Ichigo would pull through this. He had to pull through this for everyone's sake, they did not want to lose a very important friend and person in their lives.

**SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER UP. I HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER AWHILE, I HOPE TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER UP FASTER THAN THIS ONE WAS.**

**THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE HOUSE.**

**PLEASE REVIEW, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK GOOD OR BAD. IT WILL HELP MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER BETTER. **

**THANKS FOR READING ^_^**


	3. Settling in and Nightmares part 1

Chapter 3: Settling in and Nightmares

"Well I think it's time for us to get to bed. We have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow and so little time to do it in." Kisuke said getting up to go the room with Ichigo.

"I agree." Yumichika said yawning and getting up as well.

"Kira could you show me to Ichigo's room?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes sir." Kira said getting up as well.

"So how many rooms is there in this house?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"There is 8 bedrooms. We all agreed that you and Ichigo should get the master bedroom which comes with a master bathroom. We also agreed that Nel should get the second biggest room which also comes with it's on bathroom. Then Renji, Rukia, and Gin get their own rooms. While me and Ikkaku, Kira and Shuuhei both share rooms. So besides the two bathrooms in the two biggest rooms there is also 4 other bathrooms." Yumichika stated.

"Wow that is most impressive." Kisuke whistled.

They all followed Kira and Kisuke up the stairs to the second floor. On the second floor Rukia, Renji, Gin and Nel left to go to their own rooms. The rest of them went to the third floor and separated to go to their own rooms, except Kira who lead Kisuke down the hall to the master bedroom where Ichigo was sleeping. Kisuke was beginning to feel exhausted from the days events and seeing his precious Ichigo in the state that he was in. Kira stopped outside fancy looking wooden double doors. It looked like they was made out of Cherry Wood.

"Well this is your's and Ichigo's room." Kira sighed looking at the doors.

"Kira is there something you aren't telling me?" Kisuke asked watching him.

"It's just that Ichigo looked really happy for the first time today when we was coming back and he didn't see us it made me think that he was going to get better, but then he saw us and he went back to the way he was. That made me think that he might not get better, but I want to hope that he does. It would be really nice to have you and him in Soul Society as captains. It would never be boring there that's for sure. When I brought him to this room, he like completely shut down. He wouldn't look or speak to me. It was like I didn't even exist to him. It was even like the room didn't exist to him." Kira voice nearly cracked.

"Kira I know this seems nearly impossible, but we must have faith that the Ichigo everyone knows and loves will make a full recovery and come back to us in his usual hot-headed way. I would have to agree that with us there it would defiantly wouldn't be boring, between Ichigo running from Zaraki and me pulling all kinds of pranks on people. Plus we can't forget all my crazy experiments." Kisuke laughed.

"That's true. Everyone would be trying to hide Ichigo from Captain Zaraki and having their places and divisions destroyed in the process of hiding him. Your pranks do tend to get out of hand as well as your experiments." Kira laughed.

"See just think of all the fun and happy things that will happen when me and Ichigo come to Soul Society and that will give you faith in believing that Ichigo will get better." Kisuke smiled.

"Your right thank you." Kira said bowing and turning to leave.

"Your most welcome and good night." Kisuke said putting his hand on the door knob.

"Good night to you too." Kira said walking away to his and Shuuhei's room.

"Kira I know it's hard to have faith right now, but you and everyone must believe in him. I will no matter what believe that he will recover from this. I will and can't not give up on him now." Kisuke thought opening the door to his room.

What he saw made him smile brightly. Ichigo was fast asleep on a very soft looking King sized bed. He walked over to the bed to get a better look at Ichigo and saw that he had a peaceful expression on his face. That made him happy. At least he wasn't having a nightmare, which he thought he would considering everything that has happened so far. He went over to the dresser and saw that there was already clothes to wear in the drawers. He pulled out a pair of comfortable pair a shorts to sleep in and put them on. He pulled off his top and went back to the bed. He crawled in the bed and under the warm comforter. Without thinking he pulled Ichigo towards him cuddle up with him. What happened next shouldn't have surprised him but it did. Suddenly Ichigo screamed and his reiatsu spiked terrible, which in turned caused everyone in the house to run into their room. What happened shocked them and they didn't know whether or not to laugh or yell at Kisuke.

They had watched as Ichigo had woke up and punched Kisuke so hard that he few out of the bed and hit the wall next to the door. They also saw that Ichigo looked completely scared and crying. He was still in the bed but he was sitting up with arms wrapped around his legs rocking back and forth. Then they looked at Kisuke who they noticed looked hurt and regretful for what had just happened. Kira walked over to Ichigo slowly to see if he was okay while Rukia went over to Kisuke.

"Urahara what the hell happened?" Rukia asked confused.

"I made a huge mistake not thinking." Kisuke sighed sadly.

"What did you do?" Renji asked walking over then.

"I pulled Ichigo close to me so that we could cuddle, but I forgot about today and he was asleep. It must have scared him awake. I didn't mean to scare him. I guess he thought I was going to hurt him and he was scared so he must have reacted first. That's when you all came in and saw him punch me. I wasn't thinking so I really did deserve being hit." Kisuke sighed looking down at the floor sadly.

"Ichigo are you okay?" Kira asked slowly approaching Ichigo.

"Please don't. Why? Please stop. Your wrong he will still love me I just know it." Ichigo said not really noticing the people in the room.

"Oh my god. Kisuke I think Aizen tried to convince Ichigo that you wouldn't love him after what happened." Kira looked over at Kisuke in horror.

"What?" Kisuke's head shot up at the statement.

"Don't touch me. I'm with Kisuke. You can't touch me. You try to touch me again and I swear I will shove Zangetsu so far up your ass that he will pierce you heart." Ichigo said shaking.

"**It's far worse than what you are hearing." Zangetsu said sadly materializing in front of everyone.**

"What do you mean?" Rukia looked over at Zangetsu.

"**It means that Aizen did far worse than just rape Ichigo." Zangetsu sighed.**

"How much worse could he have done to Ichigo than rape him?" Ikkaku asked confused.

"**I mean besides physically breaking him he also tried to mentally break him. He used that zanpakutou of his against Ichigo. He made Ichigo believe that everyone had turned against him. That is why he is scared of most of you. He thinks that you all betrayed and left him for dead. It almost worked completely if he didn't love Kisuke Urahara so much. Aizen tried to make Ichigo believe that Kisuke didn't love him anymore. It almost worked." Zangetsu looked sad.**

"What do you mean it almost worked?" Kisuke asked.

"**It almost worked because he made an illusion of you and other people having sex in front of him. Some of the people he used are in this room at this very minute and some of them are not. Me and Shiro tried desperately to show him that the illusions weren't really, but some of them he believed." Zangetsu sighed.**

_"**Ain't that the fucking truth." Suddenly said an identical twin to Ichigo said except the was completely white with black and gold eyes, with a black tongue and teeth.**_

"**What are you doing out here Shiro. You know one of us must stay in Ichigo's inner world. If one of us doesn't things are going to get worse. Did you forget we are blocking all the memories of what happened so that he can get better and trust his friends again." Zangetsu said showing some anger.**

_"**Screw you old man. I didn't forget, but I got news for you. I don't think it's really working. Besides you saw what he did to the guy he is suppose to love didn'tcha. I mean jeeze he sent him flying. It was funny to watch though." Shiro laughed manically. **_

_"_**Shiro now is not really the time for your stupid jokes. Fine if you wont go back then I will and you will have to explain things to everyone." Zangetsu threatened.**

_"**Screw that old man. Why tha hell would I wanna explain shit to these stupid fuckers anyways. All they care about is havin' their strongest fighter back in fighting condition and shit because they all know for a fact that Aizen isn't dead and will be coming for them. But they are to stupid to realize that Aizen's real target is the one that is currently unable to defend himself even with you and me old man." Shiro said angrily at Zangetsu.**_

_"_**Well for not wanting to explain anything you sure did a good job of explaining a little." Zangetsu sighed.**

_"**Yeah well maybe these idiots will start to think straight now. They have gotta learn and understand that King is the one that needs help right now. But all they are worried about is themselves." Shiro snapped.**_

"That's not true." Renji snapped at Shiro.

"We all care deeply for Ichigo and would gladly lay down our lives for him if we had to." Rukia snapped too.

_"**If ya say so. But look at how many times he has laid down his life for you all. Now he is paying the price for it. Even that blonde guy may not be able to save King from himself." Shiro snapped.**_

"**Shiro that is enough. We must have faith. Remember if Ichigo dies so do we. I have faith that Kisuke and all his friends will help him get better." Zangetsu stated.**

_"**Whatever ya say old man. But they better do something soon. That flooding in his inner world is getting worse. I'm going back now. I'm tired of being around such stupid people." Shiro said fading away.**_

_"_**You all must forgive him. He is very worried about Ichigo. But like he so bluntly stated Aizen target is not Soul Society right now it is Ichigo. The flooding is getting worse. Ichigo's soul is falling apart thanks to Aizen and the War." Zangetsu sighed.**

"Did Aizen really rape him?" Kira asked sadly.

"**Unfortunately yes. He also really did use his zanpakutou's abilities against him. He even believes that his family doesn't want him around any more. If this keeps up the Ichigo that you all know will not exist anymore. It will be his body yes, but only a body. He will be able to do everything, but he will be easily controlled by anyone." Zangetsu stated sadly.**

"Old man what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked snapping back to normal.

"**I was just talking to your friends Ichigo." Zangetsu stated gently.**

"What friends, they all betrayed us Zangetsu. They all left us remember." Ichigo stated brokenly.

"**No Ichigo they didn't. They are right here. They want you to get better." Zangetsu calmly said.**

"They are." Ichigo said looking around seeing everyone.

"**Yes, but you have to trust them. Do not turn them away, they are here to protect you." Zangetsu stated.**

"Why should I trust them. They don't want us around. They don't want me to be happy with Kisuke. They all want Kisuke." Ichigo said choking back a sob.

"**Ichigo that's not true. Please trust me when I say it's not true. You must believe in your friends." Zangetsu said calmly.**

"Fine, I trust you so if you trust them I will too." Ichigo said yawning.

"**Thank you Ichigo. I'm going back now okay." Zangetsu said starting to fade away.**

"Okay old man." Ichigo said flatly.

They all looked at each other thinking the same thing. They were going to have to prove to Ichigo that they cared and didn't betray him. They all wanted to kill Aizen for what he has done to their friend. They really didn't like seeing their friend like this, but they didn't know how to fix the problem.

"Kisuke why are you on the floor with a red mark on your face?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Well Ichigo you are the one that gave him that red mark." Yumichika said before anyone could stop him.

"I hit you?" Ichigo asked sounding even more broken if that was possible.

"Way to go Yumi, we are suppose to be making him better not worse." Ikkaku sighed.

"Don't worry Ichi it don't hurt that bad. I will live, besides I deserved it for what I did." Kisuke chuckled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Ichigo started to cry.

"I think it's time that we all leave." Gin said picking up Nel and leaving followed by everyone else except Kisuke and Kira.

"Ichigo are you okay?" Kira asked worried.

"I hit someone I care about. I'm a horrible person. I shouldn't be allowed to live." Ichigo mumbled rocking back and forth.

"Ichi it's okay. I'm not hurt. Your not a horrible person. You're a very caring person that will protect all of his friends and family." Kisuke said getting up and walking over to Ichigo.

"Who am I? I would never hit someone I love. I would never hit Kisuke." Ichigo said to himself.

"Ichigo it's going to be okay. You have had a very traumatic day. It was an accident. We all know you didn't mean to hit Kisuke. He forgives you." Kira said gently walking closer to Ichigo.

Ichigo looked up at Kira. "Are you sure, he forgives me Kira. I wouldn't forgive me for it?"

"Yes, Ichigo I'm sure. He knows you didn't mean to." Kira said gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, Ichi I forgive you. I know it was an accident. It wasn't your fault." Kisuke said getting in the bed beside Ichigo.

"Okay." Ichigo said yawning.

"Are you tired?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes very tired." Ichigo said laying back down.

"Then go to sleep. I will be right here when you wake up." Kisuke smiled.

"Okay, night Kisuke and Kira." Ichigo said closing his eyes.

"Night Ichigo." Kisuke and Kira said at the same time.

Kira sighed looking at Kisuke. "This is going to take a lot of work and time."

Kisuke sighed. "I know."

"Well I will help in any way that I can." Kira said walking to the door.

"Thank you Kira and goodnight." Kisuke smiled.

"Your welcome and goodnight." Kira said walking out the door.

"Well at least he didn't flinch this time when Kira touched him." Kisuke thought some what happier.

Kisuke sighed and laid down to go to sleep. He looked at Ichigo and frowned sadly. He wanted his Ichi back. He wanted to see the hot-head he had fallen in love with the first time he had seen him. He wanted to see all the emotions that his chocolate brown eyes showed all the time. He wanted to see that ever present scowl that he wore, but most of all he wanted to see that beautiful smile that he always gave to him when they were alone. Much like the one he had this afternoon before everyone had come back outside. Kisuke fell asleep unaware of the shadow with green eyes watching them outside the house. It stuck around for a few more minutes before vanishing. Everything was eerily quite inside and outside the house.

The next morning Nel woke up before everyone else. She had the strangest feeling they were being watched. She got out of bed and went over to the window. She looked out the window and saw that it was just after dawn. She wondered if anyone else was awake yet. She left her room and went down stairs. When she got down stairs she heard noises coming from the kitchen. It had her scared so she ran back up stairs and went straight to Gin's room. She jumped on his bed waking him up instantly. He looked at the green haired girl confused.

"Nel dear what is wrong?" Gin asked confused.

"Nel heard something in the kitchen. It scared Nel so Nel came to get Gin." Nel said scared.

"Okay. Well lets go see what is in the kitchen." Gin said getting up.

When he got out of bed Nel jumped into his arms. He left his room and went down to the kitchen to see what scared Nel. When he went into the kitchen he was shocked to see Ichigo standing in front of the sink. Gin and Nel stood there watching him for a few minutes quietly so as not to scare him. Nel looked up at Gin sadly. Her favorite person in all three worlds was broken and she couldn't fix him. Gin couldn't believe how badly Aizen had broken Ichigo. He felt really bad for Kisuke. Gin was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when he heard glass shatter on the floor. Gin looked over at Ichigo and saw that he was shaking. He walked over to Ichigo and placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder which turned out to be a mistake because it caused Ichigo to jump and step on the broken glass.

"Ichigo calm down. I'm not going to hurt you I promise. Come sit down at the table so that I can look at your foot." Gin said helping Ichigo over to the table to sit down.

"I'm sorry I will clean the mess I promise. I didn't mean to break it." Ichigo cried.

"It's not a problem. It can be replaced easily unlike you who can't be replaced. Don't worry about cleaning up the mess. I will have someone else clean it up." Gin smiled kindly.

"But I made the mess, I should clean it up right?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Normally yes that would be right, but right now that is not the case." Gin said starting to pull the glass out of Ichigo's foot.

"But why?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Well that is hard to explain at the moment, but trust me you don't have to clean the mess up okay." Gin said looking up at Ichigo.

"Okay." Ichigo said smiling lightly which shocked Gin.

"Well at least he is showing some emotion at the moment." Gin thought happily.

"Ichigo may I ask you something?" Gin asked gently.

"You just did, but sure you can." Ichigo laughed which stunned Gin.

After he got over being stunned Gin asked. "What exactly made you drop the glass?"

"Well I thought I saw Aizen when I looked out the window." Ichigo said scared.

That caught Gin's and Nel's attention. "Nel will you please stay here with Ichigo while I go outside to check it out?"

"Yeah, I will stay with Itsygo. I will keep him safe I promise." Nel smiled.

Gin was already at the door not hearing what she had said. He went outside and looked towards the woods and saw nothing so he went and checked around the rest of the house, but he came up empty handed. He was worried if Aizen had already found the house they all could be in danger. When he didn't find anything he went back into the house. He went back to the dining room where he had left Ichigo and Nel. What he saw made him more hopeful that Ichigo would be okay. Ichigo was laughing and chasing Nel around the table. He had almost caught her until he tripped and fell head first into one of the chairs. Gin panicked and ran over to Ichigo only to find that he was fine and smiling up at him. Gin sighed happily.

"Okay I think that the next chasing game should be done outside so that no one gets hurt." Gin stated.

"Yes, sir." Ichigo said now giggling lightly.

"Would you like help up?" Gin asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Did you find anything?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't." Gin frowned when Ichigo went emotionless again.

"I see. I swear I didn't make it up." Ichigo said flatly.

"I believe you." Gin smiled.

"I have a new game I want to play." Nel said running up to them.

"Oh and what exactly would that be." Gin asked curiously.

"Let's see who can wake up everyone first." Nel said happily.

"But Nel that might make everyone mad." Gin said thoughtfully.

"I know but that's the fun part. If we blame Itsygo they wont get mad." Nel grinned evilly.

Gin laughed. "Okay then I'm game. How about you Ichigo?"

"Uh, sure I guess." Ichigo said flatly.

"Okay, when I say go. We start making as much noise as possible." Nel said running towards the stairs followed by Gin and Ichigo.

"Okay." They said to the little girl.

"Okay. 1,2,3, Go." Nel said starting to scream.

Nel's scream was so loud that Gin and Ichigo had to cover their ears. It also woke everyone up. When she stopped scream you could hear people running towards them at the bottom of the stairs. Gin and Ichigo looked at each other worried. Gin grabbed Nel and moved out of the way with Ichigo. As soon as they were out of the way. Several bodies landed at their feet. It was so funny that Ichigo started laughing loudly. He was laughing so hard that he was grabbing his sides. Everyone that was on the floor looked up with stunned faces seeing their friend laughing. Kisuke was at the top of the stairs watching what was happening happily. After the shock wore off they all started laughing with Ichigo. They all had renewed hope that Ichigo would make a full recovery. But as quickly as it had started it had stopped and he looked like he did before.

"Ichigo will you take Nel outside and play with her while I talk to the others for a minute?" Gin asked.

"Yes sir." Ichigo said bowing which shocked everyone.

"There is no reason for you to bow." Gin said calmly pulling Ichigo up from the bow.

"Okay." Ichigo said taking Nel and walking to the door and then out the door.

Gin sighed. "There is much to discuss."

"Gin what the hell is going on." Renji asked confused.

"First I think it is best we all sit down." Gin said walking into the living room and sitting down.

Everyone followed him into the living room and took a sit. On the wall over the fire place was a new plasma 52" flat screen. There was enough room to have enough chairs for everyone to have their own place to sit. The fire place was made out of different sized stones in all kinds of colors. It was not being used at the moment so they all ignored it for now. After they were all seated they all looked over at Gin. Kisuke was the first to break the silence.

"Okay, Gin I think it is time that you start talking." Kisuke said calmly.

"Okay, so this is what happened. Nel woke up early this morning and went down stairs to the kitchen, but she only made it to the dining room when she heard a noise in the kitchen. She got scared so she ran back up stairs to my room and woke me up. She was saying that she heard noises in the kitchen and that it scared her. So I got up and went down stairs to see what had scared her. When we got to the kitchen we saw Ichigo standing by the sinking drinking. Me and Nel didn't move or make a sound as we watched him. We didn't want to scare him. As we watched him we noticed just how badly Aizen has broken him. It even makes me sad to see him like this. But back to what I was saying as we watched him suddenly he gets really scared and drops his glass on the floor. He was shaking really bad, so I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder which I regret doing. It had caused him to jump and his foot landed on the broken glass on the floor. I got him calmed down and took him into the dining room to look at his foot. Before you ask Kisuke it wasn't that bad. If fact it didn't seem to bother him at all. As I was taking care of his foot I asked him what had scared him so bad. He told me that he had saw Aizen outside. That had me and Nel worried so I told Nel to stay with Ichigo while I went outside to see if Aizen was there, but when I got outside and looked around I didn't find him or any trace that he was even there to begin with. So I went back inside to Nel and Ichigo. When I went back into the dining room I found a very hopeful sight of Ichigo chasing Nel around the dining table and he was smiling and laughing, he almost caught her to until he tripped and fell head first into a chair. So I ran over to him only to find him fine and smiling up at me. When I told him that chasing games should be done outside he said yes sir and giggled. Then he asked me if I had found anything and when I said no he went back to being emotionless again. He thought I was thinking he was making up the whole thing. I told him that I believed him that's when Nel ran back up to us saying she had a new game so we asked her what this new game was. She said the new game was to see who could wake up everyone first. I told her it was a bad idea cause ya'll would be so mad at us. She said that was the best part and that if we blamed Ichigo that ya'll wouldn't be so mad so me and Ichigo said okay. When we got to the bottom of the stairs she counted to three and before me and Ichigo could do anything she screamed. Then all of ya'll came running and fell down the stairs in a big pile which I'm happy to say made Ichigo laugh for a second time today." Gin told them everything that had happened.

"How did Aizen find this place so easily?" Shuuhei asked worried.

"That is a very good question." Ikkaku stated.

"It is also a mystery for now." Kisuke sighed.

"I have a more important question." Yumichika said looking at everyone.

"What would that be?" Rukia asked.

"If Ichigo saw Aizen outside the house, why did we send him and Nel outside alone to play?" Yumichika asked calmly.

While he asked that everyone else looked at each other and thought the same thing. They all thought that they were idiots. They all jumped up and ran out of the house. As soon as they were out of the house they heard Nel scream again. They all panicked and ran towards her. When they got to where she was they all stopped and were shocked. She was not scream from fear but from fun. Nel and Ichigo were chasing each other. They both were smiling and laughing as if nothing was wrong when they all knew that there was something wrong. Everyone knew that only Kira and Kisuke were suppose to have contact with Ichigo, but it seemed that Ichigo didn't want it that way. He looked over at everyone and had that smile that everyone loved. He walked over to them he was out of breath after chasing Nel for so long.

"Hey do ya'll want to join in the game of Eternal Tag with me and Nel. It's not so much fun with only two people, but with 10 people it could be interesting." Ichigo said smiling at them.

They couldn't deny that smile so the all said yes without hesitation. What shocked them all was when Ichigo tagged Renji telling him that he was it. He then ran off in some direction. They did notice that he didn't lose any of his speed. They all knew in that instant that it was going to be very hard to tag Ichigo. Then they all realized that Renji was it and that they was still around him so they took off in different directions. They played Eternal Tag for hours with everyone but Ichigo being it. Kisuke was it at the moment and he was trying to catch Ichigo which was looking impossible to him. Then suddenly Kisuke saw a streak of blue flash past him towards Ichigo and he panicked. Ichigo had just turned around to see where Kisuke was when it was knocked to the ground with something laying on top of him. That's when everything went to hell in Kisuke's opinion. Ichigo started to scream and struggle and the person on top of him was confused and trying to calm down the orange haired teen, which was only making things worse. Everyone had heard Ichigo scream and came running over to him. Shuuhei and Kira grabbed the person off of Ichigo and held their zanpakutou's up to his neck. Kisuke ran over to Ichigo and got him to calm down only to see that he was shaking and crying. This was not helping make him better. Zangetsu's words were still ringing in his ears about the rain getting worse and not to let it happen. Kisuke shot a glare at the intruder only to be shocked. The prisoner was none other that Grimmjow.

"What are you doing here Grimmjow?" Kisuke asked worried.

"I'm here to see Ichigo." Grimmjow snapped.

"What do you want with Ichigo?" Shuuhei asked threateningly.

"That is none of you damn business Shinigami." Grimmjow growled.

"Like hell ain't our business when he is like this." Renji snapped sounding pissed.

"What are you going on about." Grimmjow asked looking confused.

Kisuke sighed. "Grimmjow Ichigo is not the same person you fought. He has been through some terrible things that have left him pretty much just a shell of who he use to be."

"What the hell happened to tha berry?" Grimmjow asked shocked.

"To put it simply Aizen." Kisuke sighed.

"That ass whole actually got the better of the Strawberry?" Grimmjow asked even more shocked.

"I wouldn't say it like that." Yumichika sighed.

Grimmjow looked at Yumichika confused. "And just where the hell was all of his so called friends when this was happening?"

"We were fighting the rest of the Espada." Kira stated flatly.

"So ya'll basically left him defenseless against that stupid bastard." Grimmjow growled.

"Why the fuck do you even care?" Renji growled back.

"Because the Strawberry saved me when he didn't have to. Even when I was going to kill him he was nothing but kind to me." Grimmjow looked at the shaking Strawberry sighed.

"I see, so you two have become friends?" Kisuke asked half-heartedly smiling.

"Ya could say that I guess. I would have fought beside him had I know that he was going to fight Aizen without any help." Grimmjow sighed.

"Why the hell would an Espada fight along side a Soul Reaper? Especially an Espada that was hell bend on killing said Soul Reaper." Ikkaku asked confused.

"Because there is something that pulls people to the Strawberry. Even some of the other Espada had even said that. Besides after our last fight I gave up trying to kill him, he was way stronger than the other two times we had fought." Grimmjow smirked.

"So even the Espada could feel Ichigo's pull." Kisuke thought with a small smile.

"Grimmjow." Ichigo whispered, but everyone heard.

Kisuke looked down at Ichigo with a small smile. He had stopped shaking and crying. But the more he looked at Ichigo's face he saw that it held no emotion not even in his eyes. Grimmjow even noticed this and frowned.

"Hey kid." Grimmjow whispered.

"I'm not a kid." Ichigo growled.

"Oh really, it sounds like it to me." Grimmjow barked.

"I'm not a damn kid you jackass." Ichigo snapped glaring at Grimmjow.

"Ha! Could have fooled me." Grimmjow laughed.

Ichigo got up and stomped over to Grimmjow and sent a right hook to his jaw. This shocked everyone that was watching except Grimmjow. He just laughed at Ichigo. Ichigo growled at the laughing man.

"Okay you stupid Blueberry I have had enough of you." Ichigo growled.

"Did you just call be Blueberry you stupid Strawberry." Grimmjow growled half-heartedly.

"Yeah what of it you damn Kitty Cat." Ichigo laughed.

"Hey don't call me Kitty Cat you damn Strawberry." Grimmjow laughed also.

Everyone looked between the two very confused. They all knew that the two were always trying to kill each other, but to see them acting like brothers was so strange to everyone. Kisuke couldn't believe that even the Arrancar could be attracted to Ichigo just like everyone else was. He always believed that the Arrancar didn't have hearts to feel, but to see the way Grimmjow looked at Ichigo with worried eyes was making him believe differently.

"By the way Strawberry, where is that tall sexy friend of yours?" Grimmjow looked around at everyone.

"What tall sexy friend?" Ichigo asked confused.

"You know the one that is always by your side. The one that came to Las Noches with you to save that chick friend of ya'lls." Grimmjow said spotting Gin

"Oh I honestly don't know." Ichigo said sadly.

"What the hell is he doing here near you Ichi." Grimmjow said angrily.

"Who are you talking about Grimmy." Ichigo asked looking around.

"What the fuck is Gin doing anywhere with in a 100 meter radius of you Ichi." Grimmjow stated pissed off walking towards Gin growling liked a pissed off cat.

"Oh he is here to look after me I guess. Calm down Grimm. You stupid cat." Ichigo said trying to get Grimmjow's attention back.

"So I'm not the only one that calls him Ichi and not to mention that Ichigo can call Grimmjow whatever he wants. It almost makes me jealous, but I should know better Ichigo loves me. They seem to act more like brothers." Kisuke thought watching to two interact together.

"No I wont calm down Ichi, he could hurt you. He don't care about nobody but himself. I will let Aizen get to you. Hell he might even give you to him on a silver platter." Grimmjow growled moving closer to Gin.

"I will have ya know Grimmjow that I have absolutely nothing to do with Aizen anymore. In fact I was really just a spy sent to watch him the whole time." Gin said standing his ground.

* * *

**SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE, STARTED A NEW JOB AND MOVED. THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO HAVE 2 PARTS BECAUSE IT IS SO LONG. I WILL TRY TO HAVE IT UP FASTER.**


	4. Settling in and Nightmares part 2

Chapter 4: Settling in and Nightmares part 2

"Bull shit. I was there you wouldn't leave Aizen's side the whole time ya'll was in Los Noches." Grimmjow growled.

"Grimmjow back down now. The Head Captain has cleared me of all charges because I was working as a spy. I had to stay by Aizen's side to keep watch over what he was doing and planning." Gin stated flatly.

"We will see. I bet your playing these Soul Reapers as fools. I swear if you hurt Ichi I will personally make you pay." Grimmjow growled.

"Fine if I hurt him I will let you kill me." Gin sighed.

"Good." Grimmjow spat.

"Hey you stupid cat." Ichigo stated flatly.

"What Strawberry." Grimmjow snapped back.

"I was just wondering if you was going to stay here or what." Ichigo asked with no real interest.

"Actually I wasn't going to stay here. In fact I was going to be staying with your friend Chad." Grimmjow smirked.

"Really." Ichigo said showing a little shock.

"Hell yeah. I find him quit interesting." Grimmjow laughed.

"Well that's good I guess." Ichigo said looking at his feet.

"You guess." Grimmjow said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. That's what I said you damn blueberry." Ichigo growled.

"Hey calm down Ichi, I wasn't trying to be mean." Grimmjow sighed.

"Oh." Ichigo sighed.

Everyone looked at each other and sighed quietly. Grimmjow was so confused by what was going on with the Strawberry that it was making him mad. He was also greatly angry with Aizen for daring to even touch Ichigo. He wanted to go and hunt down Aizen and kill him his self but he knew that he was not strong enough to fight Aizen. Ichigo looked around at everyone a little lost. He wanted to do as Zangetsu had asked and trust the people around him, but he didn't know if he could or really should. He knew that he could trust Grimmjow for sure.

"Hey blueberry." Ichigo called quietly.

"Yeah Strawberry." Grimmjow looked over at a lost looking Ichigo.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute." Ichigo asked looking at him

"Sure thing." Grimmjow smirked.

"Okay thanks." Ichigo said walking towards the woods.

"Grimmjow, please keep a eye on him while ya'll talk." Kisuke said worried.

"Sure thing lover boy." Grimmjow laughed.

"Well at least my nickname ain't Blueberry or Stupid Cat." Kisuke shot back laughing.

"Hey only Ichi can get way with those nicknames." Grimmjow growled.

"I see." Kisuke laughed coming up with an evil plan.

"Are you coming Grimm." Ichigo called back.

"Yeah I'm coming berry." Grimmjow smiled.

Grimmjow followed Ichigo some ways into the woods before they stopped. Grimmjow watched as Ichigo looked up into the trees with a tired looked. He really didn't like seeing Ichigo like this. He wanted the old Ichigo back. He wanted the Ichigo that would spar with him and banter with him. He didn't like this scared but mainly emotionless Ichigo. Finally Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow with blank looking eyes.

"Grimm." Ichigo said.

"Yeah Ichi." Grimmjow knew Ichigo was going to ask him to do something bad.

"I need a favor." Ichigo sighed.

"What is it Ichi." Grimmjow asked worried.

"You are the only one I can trust to do this for me." Ichigo smiled sadly.

"But what is it." Grimmjow was really getting worried now.

"If I can't get better or if I get any worse I want you to personally kill me. I don't want Soul Society to do it." Ichigo stated.

"Ichi I don't think I will be able to do that for you." Grimmjow swallowed thickly.

"Grimm you have to, but please make sure that Kisuke isn't around. I don't think I could bare seeing his sad face." Ichigo said sadly.

"Ichi, you will get better so don't talk like this please. You will be your old self in no time." Grimmjow smiled weakly.

"Grimm I really don't think so. Something keeps telling me that I'm not going to get better. That bastard did some pretty bad stuff to me. I know that my Hollow and Zangetsu are trying to block all the memories of what he did but the memories keep coming back no matter what. It's worse at night when I'm sleeping." Ichigo collapsed to his knees starting to cry.

"Ichi it will be okay. Kisuke will help you get better. I can see that in his eyes. He wont give up on you. He will fight for you until you are better or it kills him. All of your friends would do the same too. Hell Ichi I would do it too. Hell I would fight Aizen himself if it only meant that you would get better." Grimmjow smiled walking up to Ichigo.

"Grimm. I'm so tired. This is all to much for me. I feel so broken. I don't think I'm fixable. I don't want to feel like this anymore. I just want to get better or die." Ichigo cried.

"I know it seems like you wont get better but you will I promise. But never ever say that you want to die. That would just destroy Kisuke and your friends." Grimmjow bent down and hugged Ichigo.

Ichigo broke down and cried into Grimmjow's chest. Grimmjow swore if it was the last thing he did he would get Aizen for this. Ichigo's crying finally started to calm down but he feel asleep with Grimmjow holding him. Grimmjow sighed and picked him up bridal style and walked back towards the house.

"I promise Ichigo that I will do that favor for you even though it will kill me and everyone else. But I wont stop believing that you will get better until the end." Grimmjow smiled down and the sleeping teen.

He continued to walk towards where everyone was waiting for them. When they saw Grimmjow emerge from the trees carrying Ichigo they got worried and ran up to him. When they saw that he was just sleeping they all sighed in relief.

"So what did he want to talk to you about?" Renji asked curiously.

"That is between me and him." Grimmjow growled.

"We have a right to know we are his friends after all." Rukia snapped.

"No Grimmjow is right. If Ichi wanted us to know what they talked about he would have talked about it in front of us." Kisuke sighed.

"NO!" Renji and Rukia yelled together.

"No what?" Kisuke asked confused.

"No your wrong. Ichigo does this shit all the time. He is always shutting his friends out saying it's to protect us, but it's not. He doesn't trust us and probably never has." Renji snapped.

"You are so very wrong you stupid Pineapple." Grimmjow growled handing Ichigo over to Kisuke.

"What do you know about it any ways you damn Blueberry." Renji growled back.

"More than you will ever understand. I will tell ya'll this much. He asked me to do something that he knows that ya'll will never be able to do because he knows how much ya'll care about him." Grimmjow shot back.

"Oh and what exactly is this favor he asked of you, that one of us wouldn't be able to do?" Ikkaku asked curiously.

"Fine I will tell ya'll but ya'll can't tell him that ya'll know or that I caved and told ya'll." Grimmjow sighed.

"We swear." They all said.

"He asked me to **KILL**him if he doesn't get better or gets worse." Grimmjow yelled.

"NO." Rukia choked.

"Yes. He knew that ya'll wouldn't do it if it came to that and he didn't want Soul Society to do it either. So he made me promise that I would do it. He also made me promise that it would not be done in front of Kisuke, cuz he don't wanna see his face when or if it happens." Grimmjow said sadly.

"Why would he think he wont get better?" Rukia asked worried.

"That I don't know the answer too sorry." Grimmjow sighed.

"Does he not have faith in himself to get better." Renji growled looking at the unconscious Ichigo in Kisuke's arms.

"I think that he is just being prepared in case the worse does happen and he doesn't get better." Kisuke said sadly.

"AND YOU WOULD JUST LET HIM LEAVE TO GO BE KILLED WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING TO YOU." Renji shouted angrily.

"If that is what he wished then I will not stand in the way." Kisuke sighed.

Renji snapped when Kisuke had said that. He walked over to Kisuke and punched him as hard as he could, knocking Kisuke off his feet. Everyone stood there shocked. Ichigo had landed on Kisuke's chest when he fell to the ground knocking all the breath out of him. Renji was furious with Ichigo, Kisuke, and even Grimmjow.

"HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE AND SAY THAT SHIT WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO LOVE HIM. AS FOR YOU HOW DARE YOU MAKE THAT PROMISE. AREN'T YOU SUPPOSE TO BE HIS FRIEND? IF YOU ARE HOW COULD YOU PROMISE HIM THAT." Renji yelled.

"I made the promise to him because I am his friend." Grimmjow growled.

"That makes no sense." Renji snapped.

"A true friend would not just sit by and watch their friend suffer. I promised him because I don't want to see a broken Ichigo, especially after I have see him fight for everyone even his enemies. I wont let him suffer like that. I would rather kill him as a promise than see him like this." Grimmjow snapped back.

Everyone looked at him speechless. When he put it that way they all could see themselves making the same promise to him. Nobody wanted to see a broken and suffering Ichigo. They cared to much about him to do that. Kisuke slowly got up to his feet not showing how much finding out about this promise was hurting him. He smiled sadly at Renji.

"I'm sorry that what I said offended you, but that is how I feel. Yes I do love him more than any of you can ever know or imagine. That is why if he doesn't want me to see him being killed willingly when he knows I still have hope then I will stay away. I imagine that he doesn't want to remember me broken and crying while he is dying. If that is the case then I can understand because I would feel the same way if our positions were reversed." Kisuke said sadly.

Renji was now feeling really guilty for hitting Kisuke and yelling at him and Grimmjow. He sighed and walked away. Rukia went to follow him but Gin put out his arm to stop her and shaking his head.

"Rukia give Renji so time alone. He needs to think and clear his head. This is really hard for everyone. But I think it is hitting Renji harder because he sees Ichigo as a brother." Gin said watching Renji walk way.

"But I'm his friend too. I can be there as a shoulder to lean on if he needs it." Rukia said.

"Maybe so, but right now he needs to be alone to deal with this first." Gin sighed.

"But…" Rukia started.

"No buts, Gin is right Rukia." Kira said watching Renji.

"Kira, why are you siding with Gin." Rukia wondered.

"I'm siding with him because I know how Renji talks about Ichigo being a brother to him. He also calls him one of his best friends. I know for a fact that he is taking this just as hard a Kisuke is." Kira stated sadly.

"How do you know all of this." Rukia pondered.

"I never knew Renji saw me as a brother." Ichigo yawned waking up.

"Ichigo." Rukia looked at him.

"Yeah Rukia." Ichigo smiled sadly.

"Will you go talk to Renji please. Maybe you talking to him will help him understand." Rukia said thoughtfully.

"Sure." Ichigo said getting out of Kisuke's arms and walking towards Renji.

"Hey Renji." Ichigo called towards Renji.

Renji turned to look at who had called him. When he saw it was Ichigo he nearly broke down. He didn't know how much of this he could take. It was like watching a really sad movie over and over again. He loved Ichigo like a brother and to see him this way was killing him.

"What do you want?" Renji snapped guiltily.

"I wanted to talk to you for awhile." Ichigo stated calmly.

"Why?" Renji asked confused.

"Look I know that Grimm told ya'll what I asked him to do." Ichigo stated emotionlessly.

"Why would you ask him to that Ichi?" Renji asked.

"I asked him because he knows how to hide his emotions. I wouldn't be able to bare it watching you or anyone other than him killing me. Renji your like a brother I would never ask family to do what I asked of him. I can't honestly tell you if I'm going to get better or not. But I will make you this promise I wont give up trying to get better. I do want you to be prepared for the worst should it come to that." Ichigo said with a small spark of sadness.

"I guess I understand now. I see you as a brother too. I don't want you to suffer Ichi. It breaks my heart." Renji choked.

"I know. I have a favor to ask of you." Ichigo said.

"Really. What is this favor." Renji asked shocked.

"I know for a fact that you have been hiding your feeling for Byakuya." Ichigo stated flatly.

"How…" Renji started.

"I want you to go to Soul Society right now. I want you to tell him of your feelings. I know for a fact that he also had feelings for you. I want to see the both of you happy, even if right now I'm not." Ichigo said trying to smile.

"I understand. I will go right now just for you." Renji said opening the gate to Soul Society.

"Good." Ichigo said turning and walking away.

"Thank you Ichi." Renji whispered walking through the gate.

When Ichigo walked back over to everyone else he was back to not showing emotions. He knew that this was hurting everyone that he cared about, but he was scared that this was only going to get worse. He didn't want to make everyone suffer with him, but it seemed like he was making them. That's when an idea hit him to make all his friends happy. He would make them happy by setting them up with the person that he knew that loved the most. The only reason he knew who they loved was because for some strange reason before this happened they all came to him for advice about how to tell the other person. Know that he thinks about it he is really glad they told him.

"Is Renji going to be okay?" Rukia asked.

"He is going to be just fine." Ichigo stated.

"But where is he going?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"He is doing a favor I asked him to do in Soul Society." Ichigo stated.

"What was this favor?" Ikkaku asked.

"If he wants to tell you then that is his business, but I will not tell what I asked him to do." Ichigo stated walking back to the house.

Everyone stared in disbelief at his cold tone. Then they all slowly followed him into the house. Ichigo notice a door earlier when he was in the kitchen so he walked to the door. When he opened the door he noticed that it lead to the basement. His curiosity got the better of his so when went down in the basement. When he turned on the light he was a little surprised at what he saw. Instead of the usual stuff in a basement there was a theater system, a fireplace, pool table, dart board, and an area with workout equipment.

"Since when does a basement look like this?" Ichigo asked himself.

"Oh since the previous owners like expensive things." Kisuke laughed behind him.

"I see." Ichigo stated.

Kisuke sighed dejectedly and watched as Ichigo made his way over to the workout area. He watched as Ichigo uninterestedly picked up the weights to see if he could pick them up. Then he watched him make his way over to the pool table. He then saw a small spark of some emotion but it was gone before he could place which emotion it was.

"Would you like to play?" Kisuke asked watching Ichigo.

"Sure I guess." Ichigo stated.

When everyone walked down into the basement they stood there and watched Kisuke and Ichigo playing pool. From where they were standing it looked like Ichigo was winning or Kisuke was letting him win. Then a thought struck Kira and he looked at everyone.

"I'm sorry everyone but it's time that ya'll start keeping watch around the outside of the house." Kira said.

"Yeah Kira is right come on everyone." Rukia started pushing everyone back up the stairs, but Grimmjow slipped by her.

"I'm staying right here. Sorry no offence, but if someone gets past them I want to be as close as possible to Ichigo. I know that you and Kisuke are strong but it's good to have that extra person just in case." Grimmjow stated looking at Kira.

"I understand and no offence taken." Kira smiled.

With that said everyone left to go keep a look out. Grimmjow walked over to the pool table and watched Ichigo and Kisuke play. He was curious about how to play. He wanted to learn how to play. It looked like it would be fun to play. Kisuke looked over at Grimmjow and saw how curious he was about the game.

"Grimmjow would you like to learn to play?" Kisuke asked watching him.

"Yeah I would like to, but I don't know how to play." Grimmjow confessed.

"Well then I will teach you. After you have learned to play then we can play as partners. Me and Ichi as a team and you and Kira as a team." Kisuke smiled.

After they all agreed to that Kisuke started teaching Grimmjow how to play. It took Grimmjow about 10 minutes to learn how to play. Then they started to play as teams. Of course with Ichigo and Kisuke on the same team they won every time much to Grimmjow's and Kira's dismay. Then they decided to play a tournament with the four of them. In the end Ichigo had won the tournament much to all of their dismay. When they got tired of playing pool they started to play darts. They even had a tournament for that which again Ichigo had won. After that they decided to watch a movie.

"I'll go get some popcorn." Ichigo said walking up the stairs.

"Should one of us follow him?" Grimmjow asked worriedly.

"No I'm sure he will be fine." Kisuke said picking out a movie.

"If you say so." Grimmjow said still watching the stairs.

They had just sat down getting comfortable when they heard the sound of glass breaking upstairs. They all immediately jumped up and ran up stairs. When they got up stairs they found Ichigo in a corner with his arms wrapped around his legs rocking back and forth. They found the glass bowl broken by the microwave. Kisuke ran over to Ichigo to see if he was hurt.

"Ichi what's wrong?" Kisuke asked worried.

"No please don't hurt me." Ichigo cried with blank eyes.

"Ichi it's us. It's Kisuke, Grimmjow, and Kira. We wont hurt you. Please tell me what's wrong." Kisuke begged.

"No stay back. I know I'm not strong enough, but I wont give up. I wont let you hurt anyone anymore. I don't care if I have to sacrifice myself to do it." Ichigo cried.

"Kisuke, there is something I should have told you when me and Ichi where talking." Grimmjow sighed knowing what was going on.

"What is it Grimmjow?" Kisuke asked worried.

"He told me that Zangetsu and Shiro are trying to block out the memories of what happened…" Grimmjow started to say.

"I know that they told me last night." Kisuke said frustrated.

"Let me finish dammit. He said that it is not working. He said that the memories still come. He said they are worse in his sleep." Grimmjow finished.

"So what is happening right now is he is remembering what happened to him." Kisuke sighed.

"I have no doubt that is what is happening." Grimmjow stated.

"Grimmjow and Kira I have to be honest. I don't know how to help him. I don't know what to do. I'm losing hope and I don't know how to get it back." Kisuke choked.

"Kisuke nobody expects you to have all the answers. All any of us can do right now is be here for Ichigo. We have to be his rock when everything around him is coming apart. We can not abandon him when he needs us. But most importantly we must not lose hope as you told me last night." Kira preached.

"Your right. But it is so hard to see him like this." Kisuke sighed.

"Kisuke what's hard?" Ichigo suddenly asked.

The sudden question made everyone jump and look at Ichigo. "Nothing Ichigo. Are you alright now?" Kisuke asked.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I thought I saw Ulquiorra while I was making popcorn." Ichigo voice cracked a little.

Grimmjow growled and ran outside to see if he could find or sense Ulquiorra. When he could do either he ran do everyone that was keeping watch and asked if they had seen or sensed anything out of the ordinary. When that came up negative he ran back into the house to see that Ichigo was now sitting at the dinning table.

"I couldn't find anything and nobody outside noticed anything." Grimmjow sighed.

"I know I saw him. I'm not making this up I swear." Ichigo cried.

"We aren't saying you are Ichi." Grimmjow said calmly.

"Why wont ya'll believe me. I know I saw Aizen and Ulquiorra today. I wouldn't make this up I swear." Ichigo cried.

"We believe you Ichi." Kisuke said.

"No ya'll don't." Ichigo suddenly shot up off the floor and ran up stairs.

"This ain't good." Kira sighed.

"Why?" Kisuke and Grimmjow asked at the same time.

"Oh because he is extremely upset and just ran to one of the rooms that has a bathroom attached to it." Kira stated.

"So." They said together again.

"Are you two really that clueless. A bathroom has sharp object kept in them. Not to mention a glass mirror and even a bath tub. Are ya'll seeing the picture now." Kira sighed already leaving to get Ichigo.

It took them a minute to figure out what he was talking about but when they did their eyes went as round as saucers. "Shit." They yelled running after Kira and Ichigo.

They ran up the stairs to Kisuke's and Ichigo's room. They busted open the bedroom doors and made their way over to the bathroom door. When Kira turned the knob he found the door was locked. He didn't hear any running water. He knocked on the door.

"Ichigo, open the door it's me Kira." Kira yelled calmly

"Go away and leave me alone. None of you believe me. I don't understand why ya'll want me around anymore." Ichigo cried from the other side of the door.

"Ichigo please let me in so we talk." Kira pleaded calmly.

"I said leave me alone." Ichigo said again.

"I just want to talk please. I swear that I believe you about Aizen and Ulquiorra." Kira pleaded again.

"Just go away." Ichigo's voice sounded weaker this time.

"Ichigo are you okay. Please just open the door I beg you." Kira was worried now.

"Just…go…away." Ichigo sounded even weaker.

Kira panicked and with all of his strength busted the door open. When he stepped inside he nearly screamed in fear. Ichigo was laying on the in a pool of his own blood. In one of his hands he was holding a broken piece of the mirror, while his opposite wrist was sliced open. Kira immediately pulled himself together and told the other two in the bedroom to go get some towels and bandages. He even told them to get a sewing kit. When they came back with everything Grimmjow had to pull a distraught Kisuke out of the bathroom so that Kira could concentrate on sewing up Ichigo's wrist. About 20 minutes later Kira carried out an unconscious but sewed up Ichigo out of the bathroom and laid him on the bed.

"We are going to have to keep a very close eye on him for the next 24 hours." Kira stated.

"Why?" Grimmjow asked.

"I was able to sew him back up, but he slipped unconscious from the blood loss. If he don't wake up in the next 24 hours we are going to have to take him to a hospital where he can get better treatment or we are going to have to call Unohana. But I suggest that we go ahead and call Unohana." Kira stated.

"I agree Kira." Kisuke choked out between sobs.

"Very well I will contact her immediately." Kira said walking out of the room.

"It looks like we will have to watch what we say in front of him from now on." Kisuke sighed.

"I guess so. Dammit this is my fault." Grimmjow growled.

"No it's not. This never would have happened if it wasn't for Aizen." Kisuke stated.

"But if I hadn't said anything about not finding Ulquiorra he wouldn't have thought we didn't believe him and he wouldn't have run up here and did this." Grimmjow sighed.

"Please don't blame yourself Grimmjow. Ichigo wouldn't want us to blame ourselves for this." Kisuke sighed.

Kira walked back into the room. "Captain Unohana is on her way."

"Okay thank you Kira." Kisuke smiled a little.

"Your welcome." Kira said.

"He looks so pale why?" Grimmjow asked curiously.

"That is because he lost so much blood." Kira explained calmly.

Suddenly Shiro appeared before them looking extremely pissed. They all paled at just how angry he looked.

"_**Okay one of you shit heads had better start explaining what the fuck just happened." Shiro growled.**_

"Well you see he said he saw Ulquiorra so Grimmjow here went outside to see if he was still around or not. When he came back he told us that him or the other saw or even felt Ulquiorra around. Then Ichigo took it as we didn't believe him so he ran up here and slit his wrist. Kira did what he could to stop the bleeding and sewed him back up, but he slipped unconscious from the blood loss." Kisuke explained shying away from the Hollow.

"_**Kisuke so help you god if he don't pull through this when I'm reborn I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Do you understand me. The buildings in his inner world are starting to collapse plus all the flooding that is still going on. You had better think of something to fix this or you are going to regret it." Shiro growled while disappearing.**_

"Damn Ichi sure has one scare ass Hollow." Grimmjow whistled.

"Your tell me." Kisuke was shaking from the threat.

"Do you think Shiro meant what he said about hunting you down and kill you?" Kira asked concerned.

"In all honesty yes I believe he will keep his word on that and me regretting it too." Kisuke sighed.

"I hate to be in your shoes right now Soul Reaper." Grimmjow cringed.

"Don't worry I'm hating being in my shoes right now too." Kisuke chuckled sadly.

"**Kisuke Shiro told me what happened." Zangetsu said appearing before them.**

"I'm sorry Zangetsu." Kisuke cringed.

"**I'm not here to threaten you Kisuke." Zangetsu laughed.**

"Then why are you here?" Kira asked confused.

"**I honestly needed to get away from Shiro's complaining and his coming up with plans to get rid of Kisuke should Ichigo not pull through and he has to be reborn." Zangetsu stated.**

"Oh it must be bad if he had you running away from Ichigo's inner world." Kisuke paled.

"**I'm also here to warn you Kisuke. No more mistakes." Zangetsu stated calmly but giving off a killing intent. **

"Yes sir." Kisuke paled even more.

"Now Zangetsu is that any way to treat Ichigo's lover." The calm but scary voice of Captain Unohana stated.

"**No ma'am. I'm sorry Kisuke." Zangetsu cringed before disappearing.**

"_Wow Unohana is defiantly scary if she can make Zangetsu cringe." _Kisuke thought.

"Sorry that I'm so late." Captain Unohana said walking over to Ichigo.

"It's not a problem." Kisuke said.

When she got over to Ichigo she took off the bandages. She looked at the damage and how well it was sewed back up. Then she used her healer abilities to close the wound for good and getting rid of the stitches. Then she did a check over everything else and sighed.

"What's wrong Captain Unohana?" Kira asked.

"While what you did saved his life. He has lost to much blood. I am going to stay here for awhile and watch him. I think he might have slipped into a temporary coma, but I can't be sure. Kisuke I'm sorry but you are going to have to sleep in a different room for now." Captain Unohana said calmly giving no room for arguing.

"I understand." Kisuke sighed.

"Do not worry he is in safe hands." Captain Unohana said.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about everything that happening." Kisuke sighed bowing his head.

"I know this is hard on you Kisuke, but please have faith in him. Now go get some rest and I will let you know if anything changes." Captain Unohana said calmly.

Grimmjow and Kira followed Kisuke out of the room and closed the doors behind them. They could see that this was taking it's toll on him. They didn't know how to cheer him up either. They watched as he went to one of the extra rooms to rest for awhile.

"This shit really sucks." Grimmjow sighed.

"I know what you mean. I feel sorry for Kisuke and Ichigo." Kira sighed.

"I really hope that Ichigo can get through this. I should have been there to help him fight Aizen." Grimmjow growled.

"None of us knew that he would take his fight away from where any of us could help him. Nobody is to blame for this except maybe Aizen." Kira sighed.

"Dammit this shit really fucking sucks." Grimmjow growled.

"I think you already established that." Kira laughed.

"Your right I did." Grimmjow laughed too.

"Will you be staying here tonight?" Kira asked

"No, but I will be back bright and early tomorrow." Grimmjow said walking down the stairs to the front door.

"Well see you tomorrow then. I will let you know if anything changes with Ichigo while you are gone." Kira smiled and waved.

"Thanks." Grimmjow waved back and left the house.

Kira sighed and walked to the kitchen to start supper. He spent the next hour cooking and trying to distract his mind from what happened to today. He knew this was hard on Kisuke. He began to wonder if he could handle it if he was in Kisuke shoes. When he was done cooking he set the table for everyone. He set a place for Captain Unohana even though he didn't know if she would leave Ichigo's side at the moment. When he was done setting the table he brought all the food in and set it on the table. It was a simple meal. There was mashed potatoes, macaroni, corn, sweet peas, and the meat was BBQ chicken. When everything was set on the table he went to the front door and yelled for everyone to come eat. Everyone rushed into the house and took a seat at the table. Kira then went up stairs and got Kisuke. Kisuke went down to the dinning room to eat. Kira then made his way to Ichigo's room to get Captain Unohana. Kira knocked on the door and went in.

"Captain Unohana. Dinner is ready if you would like to come eat." Kira said bowing to her.

"Thank you Vice Captain Kira. I will be down in a minute." Captain Unohana said with a smile.

"How is he doing?" Kira asked.

"So far nothing has changed, which at this point is a good thing." Captain Unohana sighed sadly.

"I guess that is good to hear." Kira frowned.

"Do not worry I am sure that Kurosaki will pull threw this. He has a very determined soul that wont let him give up so easily. Not to mention he is very stubborn from what I hear." Captain Unohana giggled.

"I believe you. I'm just worried what kind of effect this is having on Kisuke. It seems to be taking it's toll on him even if he don't show it." Kira sighed.

"Do not worry Kisuke will be just fine." Captain Unohana smiled.

"Okay." Kira said turning to leave.

Kira left the room and Captain Unohana sighed. She felt so useless at the moment. She check over Ichigo one last time before leaving the room and going down stairs. When she entered the dinning room everyone stopped what they was doing to stare at her. Most of them looked very confused.

"Captain Unohana what are you doing here?" Rukia asked confused.

"Oh I'm here to watch Ichigo for the next 24 hours." Captain Unohana stated.

"Why is something wrong with Ichigo?" Shuuhei asked worried.

"If Kisuke wishes for you to know then he can tell you, but I will not state why I am watching Ichigo." Captain Unohana said sitting down to eat.

"What where is Ichigo anyways?" Ikkaku asked looking around.

"He is sleeping right now." Kira said lying a little.

"Why?" Rukia asked.

"He has had a very long and trying day. So we thought it best that he rest for now." Kira said.

"Kira stop lying to them. They will find out eventually anyways." Kisuke sighed.

"What do you mean stop lying?" Shuuhei asked even more confused.

"Look Ichigo thought he saw Ulquiorra this afternoon and when Grimmjow came back and said that he wasn't there Ichigo thought we didn't believe him. He then ran up to the room and locked himself in the bathroom. Kira then busted down the bathroom door and saw Ichigo slit his wrists. Kira sewed him up but he lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious. We called Captain Unohana to make sure that Ichigo doesn't die and to make sure that he makes a full recovery from this episode that Kira, Grimmjow, and me accidentally caused." Kisuke sighed.

"Oh my god! Ichigo is going to live right?" Rukia asked worried.

"The next 24 hours are very critical to him surviving, but I believe that he will survive." Captain Unohana said calmly.

"So with this said everyone must watch what they say around Ichigo. He might take it the wrong way and do something like this again." Kisuke stated firmly.

"Yes, sir." Everyone at the table said together.

Captain Unohana ate her fill and then went back to watch Ichigo. After everyone else was done eating they gathered all the dishes up and took them to the sink. Gin and Nel started washing all the dirty dishes. Kisuke went to the room that he would be sleeping in to get some more sleep. Kira and everyone else went down to the game room to relax before they went to bed.

"Someone should probably take a patrol at night." Kira said thinking.

"What do you mean?" Ikkaku asked.

"I mean that some of you should patrol during the day and the others should patrol during the night." Kira stated.

"Oh I get it now." Ikkaku laughed.

"But who should do which patrols?" Yumichika asked.

"I was thinking that maybe Shuuhei, Rukia, and Renji when he gets back could do they day patrol. Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Gin could to the night patrols. I would gladly watch Nel." Kira said.

"It sounds like a good idea to me." Ikkaku said.

"Yeah." Everyone else agreed after that.

"Well I'm glad that you all like the idea. Well then this idea will begin tomorrow. So the ones that are taking the day patrol should get some rest. Well you all have fun I'm a bit tired myself so I'm heading to bed." Kira said leaving to go to bed.

"So when do you plan on telling him?" Rukia asked Shuuhei.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Shuuhei said confused.

"Oh don't lie to us we know that you have a thing for Kira." Ikkaku laughed.

"I don't know how to tell him honestly. Besides I don't think right now is the right time." Shuuhei sighed.

"I think right now is the perfect time. It's what Ichigo would want you to do." Yumichika stated.

"I will have to think about it." Shuuhei sighed.

After awhile everyone else went to bed to get some much needed rest. Everyone slept peacefully except for one very lonely blonde. He laid in bed not able to get to sleep since he was so worried about his precious Strawberry. After what seemed liked hours he finally fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

**SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE, BUT I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW I SHOULD WRITE THIS CHAPTER. I HOPE THAT IT IS TO EVERYONE'S LIKING.**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW IF IT IS GOOD OR BAD. IF IT'S BAD TELL ME WHAT IT IS YOU THINK IS BAD AND I WILL TRY TO FIX IT FOR THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT.**

**I THINK THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ABOUT RENJI AND BYAKUYA IN SOUL SOCIETY.**


	5. Soul Society

**Chapter 5: Soul Society**

When Renji stepped through the gate he saw that he was back in Soul Society. He sighed sadly. He knew that he told Ichigo that he would come here and tell his captain how he felt but he didn't know how. He also didn't want to feel the rejection he knew was coming. He saw the 6th division coming into sight so he slowed down. He wanted to take as long as possible not knowing how this was going to turn out. When he looked up he saw that he was standing in front of two large doors that had the 6th division symbol on it. He sighed thinking he might as well get this over with. He walked through the doors and made his way to his captain's office. He stood outside Captain Kuchiki's office he was to scared to knock on the door.

"Are you going to stand outside my door all day or are you going to come in Abarai?" Captain Kuchiki asked impatiently.

Renji tensed and opened the office door. "I was fixing to come in Captain."

"Why are you here Abarai? Your suppose to be watching over Kurosaki." Captain Kuchiki demanded

Renji scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well you see Ichigo asked me to come here and talk to you."

"Why would Kurosaki ask you to come talk to me?" Captain Kuchiki inquired curiously.

"Well that's the funny part he wanted me to tell you something." Renji laughed nervously.

"Well spit it out I don't have all day Abarai." Captain Kuchiki snapped impatiently.

"Well he wanted me to confess that I…" Renji said nervously.

"That you what?" Captain Kuchiki asked standing up.

"That I love you damn it." Renji yelled blushing a red that put even his hair to shame.

"What kind of joke is this Abarai." Captain Kuchiki asked confused.

"It's not a joke Byakuya." Renji said walking over to Byakuya.

"Don't fuck with me lieutenant Abarai or I will make you regret it dearly." Byakuya growled.

"I swear Captain I'm not fucking with you. I have loved you for awhile now." Renji said standing in front of Byakuya.

"How long is awhile?" Byakuya asked confused.

"For years now Captain." Renji said leaning in and kissing Byakuya on the lips.

Byakuya stood there shocked as Renji continued to kiss him. He couldn't believe that his dream was coming true. He had loved Renji for years also, but he was to scared to admit it to his lieutenant in fear of being rejected. As he started to come out of his shocked state he started to kiss Renji back passionately. Renji moaned as he wove his hands through Byakuya's hair. Soon the need for air came and they broke apart to catch their breathes.

"Wow, Ichigo was right." Renji sighed.

"What do you mean?" Byakuya asked curiously.

"He said I should just confuse and fear be damned. I told him I didn't want to, but he asked me to do it for him." Renji sighed sadly.

"How is Kurosaki doing?" Byakuya asked concerned.

"That is really hard to explain." Renji sighed looking away.

"I take it that it's not going so well." Byakuya sighed.

"Captain, he asked Grimmjow to kill him." Renji choked out.

"Why would he do that?" Byakuya asked shocked.

"He doesn't think he will get better and he doesn't want Soul Society or any of us to do it." Renji stated quietly.

"How does Kisuke feel about this?" Byakuya asked sadly.

"That's the worst part, he is going along with Ichigo's wishes. He said that if he was in Ichigo's place he would ask for the same thing." Renji sighed.

"How do you feel about this?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm so confused Byakuya. I love Ichigo like a brother and don't wan to see him like this. But I don't want to see him just give up. I don't want him to die either. I'm just so confused." Renji sobbed out.

"Everything will turn out just fine. All you have to do is have a little faith in Kurosaki. He is too stubborn to give up so easily." Byakuya stated.

"But Captain you haven't seen him lately. He will only let Nel, Kira, and Kisuke near him and that's only for a very short time. Sometimes he will be like the old Ichigo, but then something will happen and he will go back to the way he was when we found him. It is breaking my heart to watch it. I will get my hopes up when he acts like the old Ichigo but then my hopes shatter when he goes back to being emotionless." Renji cried falling to his knees.

"How was he when you left him?" Byakuya asked.

"He was some what like his old self. He had his old smile when he told me to come here and talk to you." Renji smiled looking up at Byakuya.

"Well I'm glad you actually listened to him and came here." Byakuya smiled.

"I'm glad I did too. I think maybe I should go talk to Head Captain Yamamoto to give a report so far since I'm here." Renji said.

"I think that would be a wise idea. I will go with you for support." Byakuya said walking to the door.

"Thank you Captain." Renji said bowing and walking out the door to go to the First Division.

On the way to the First Division they noticed that Captain Unohana was rushing to the Senkaimon. They wondered where she was off to in such a hurry, but they continued on their way to the First Division anyways. They finally after about 10 minutes was standing outside Head Captain Yamamoto's office. Byakuya raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." They heard Head Captain Yamamoto yell from the other side of the door.

"Head Captain, Vice-Captain Abarai is here to give a report on Ichigo's condition so far." Captain Byakuya said bowing after walking in.

"I do not need a report for I have already been sent one and it has grave news." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"What do you mean Head Captain. I did not leave Ichigo that long ago and he seemed just fine." Renji asked worried.

"It would appear that Ichigo thought he saw Ulquiorra, and when he told the others that he saw him they went to investigate but they could not find him or any trace of him. When they told Ichigo that he broke down and thought nobody believe him and in the state he was already in he did something drastic." Head Captain informed them.

"What did he do Head Captain." Byakuya asked worried.

"It would seem that in his distress he ran to his bathroom and locked the door. Then he proceeded to break the mirror and used a piece of the mirror to slit his wrists. He lost consciousness from the blood loss. I have sent Captain Unohana to check on his condition as we speak, but I fear it will not be good." Head Captain sighed sadly.

"That's impossible, he was fine when I left. Your lying Ichigo would never try to kill himself. This is just some sick joke as punishment for leaving the group." Renji choked out.

"Vice-Captain Abarai this is not some joke or punishment. This is the truth." Head Captain stated.

"NO, I wont believe this. Ichigo is not the type of person to try and kill himself no matter what. Ichigo is stronger than that. He would never do that to Kisuke." Renji nearly yelled.

"Renji please you have to calm down." Byakuya said pulling Renji into a tight hug.

"I can't believe this Byakuya. This is Ichigo we are talking about. He wouldn't do this to the people he cares about." Renji started to cry.

"Everything will be alright you will see. He will pull through this I promise." Byakuya said rubbing his back soothingly.

"I don't know anymore Byakuya. I just don't know if he will make it through this." Renji said before passing out.

Byakuya sighed sadly. "Head Captain I'm taking Renji to the Kuchiki Manor so that he can rest in peace for awhile. This is apparently becoming to much for him to handle so I would like to take his place for awhile as one of Ichigo's guards with your permission of course."

"I will grant you this. Renji seems really close to Ichigo, so I would imagine this is to much stress for him to handle." Head Captain Yamamoto sighed.

"Thank you sir. Yes they are very close, they are like brothers. When Renji wakes up will you please tell him that he is to stay here, while I take his place for awhile and please watch him for me. He is like Ichigo in many ways as in he will do something very drastic at a moments notice." Byakuya asked.

"You have my word as Head Captain that I will look after him for you." Head Captain Yamamoto promised.

"Thank you sir." Byakuya said walking out the door to the Kuchiki Manor.

When Byakuya got to the Manor he went straight to his room and laid Renji down on his bed. He sat beside him and waited for him to wake up. A couple hours later Renji woke up yawning and stretching. He looked around and saw that he was in Byakuya's room. He also didn't see Byakuya anywhere around. He laid back down and sighed. He felt guilty for breaking down in front of Byakuya and Head Captain Yamamoto, but he just couldn't believe the news that Ichigo tried to kill himself. It just didn't seem possible to him. Then he saw the door open and Byakuya stepped in carrying a try of food.

"I see that you are finally awake." Byakuya stated.

"Yes, I'm sorry about earlier in Head Captain's office." Renji said bowing his head in shame.

"There is nothing to be sorry for Renji. Head Captain and me understand how you are feeling right now that is why for awhile you will be staying here in Soul Society and I will be taking your place in the World of the Living. We both feel that you need a break from the stress you are under." Byakuya stated calmly.

"But what if something happens to Ichigo and I'm not there. I can handle this stress I swear I can. I don't want to be away from his side for very long." Renji said panicking.

"Renji right now I don't think you can handle the stress, you broke down in front of me and the Head Captain. You need to take a break and relax even for just a few days. It's just until we are sure you can absolutely handle the stress of seeing your closest friend in the state he is in." Byakuya sighed.

"If that is what you want then I will stay here for awhile. But know that I don't like being here while he is there suffering and not knowing if he is going to make it through this." Renji sighed defeated.

"It is what I want Renji. Besides with Captain Unohana there Ichigo is sure to be fine. I can promise you that she will not let anything happen to him." Byakuya smiled sadly.

"Thank you Captain. That puts me at ease a little." Renji smiled a little.

"Your welcome." Byakuya said smiling and kissing Renji gently on the lips. "Now I want you to eat."

"Yes sir." Renji said smiling and blushing.

"I will be leaving shortly for the World of the Living." Byakuya stated.

"Will you please let me know if anything happens to Ichigo." Renji looked at Byakuya with pleading eyes.

"Of course I will. Now I want you to eat and get some rest. Please just try to relax for a few days. It pains me to see you so unhappy and stressed. I love you so very much and don't want anything to happen to you." Byakuya smiled.

"I will. I love you too." Renji smiled and blushed then started to eat.

"I will come back in a few days to see how you are doing." Byakuya said walking to the door.

"I will be waiting." Renji smiled.

Byakuya smiled and shut the door behind him. He walked to the front gate of the Manor. Outside the gate he looked up at the sky and sighed sadly. He knew it was going to be a sad day if Ichigo did not pull through this. He made is way to the Senkaimon that would lead him to where the others where staying. When he got to the gate he saw that Captain Ukitake was standing there waiting for him.

"Is there something I can do for you Captain Ukitake?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes there is." Ukitake said calmly.

"What would it be." Byakuya asked confused.

" I would like to ask you to do something for me." Ukitake said seriously.

"Anything." Byakuya said.

" I have heard from Rukia that Ichigo has asked the Espada Grimmjow to kill him instead of us should he not get better. I would like to you to please follow his wishes. I can understand him not wanting us to do it for our own sakes." Ukitake smiled sadly.

"As you wish, but just so you know I never had the intense of going against his wishes. I'm just going there to take Renji's place for awhile. He is feeling to much stress from this seeing as how they are like brothers." Byakuya sighed sadly.

"I know what you mean. I'm also worried that this might be to much for Rukia too. I know that she feels responsible for Ichigo. I also that they are very close as well. If you think it is becoming to much for her please let me know and I will gladly come and give her a break for awhile. But I'm sure she will be fine she is very stubborn like you, Ichigo, and Renji." Ukitake laughed lightly.

"Very well I will let you know. I must be going now." Byakuya bowed and walked through the open gate to the real world.

"Please don't let this become to much for you either Byakuya. Ichigo please pull through this for everyone's sake. You would be leaving a lot of very unhappy people behind to deal with your loss." Captain Ukitake sighed looking up at the sky.


	6. AUTHORS NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**IMPORANT NEWS**

**SORRY THAT THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE BUT IT IS COMING SOMETIME THIS WEEK.**

**BUT I HAVE A POLL UP SO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.**

**IT WILL DECIDE THE NEXT STORY THAT I POST I HAVE A COUPLE STARTED BUT I DON'T WANT TO PUT THEM ON ALL AT ONCE EVEN THOUGH I'M WORKING ON THEM AT THE SAME TIME.**

**BUT WHO EVER COMES IN 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD ****WILL BE POSTED AFTER THE POLL IS CLOSED. SO PLEASE HELP ME DECIDED. ^^**

**AND THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS AND FAVORITES IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT MY STORY IS LIKED. ^^**


	7. Chapter 6 Road to Recovery

**Chapter 6: The Road to Recovery**

When Byakuya stepped through the gate he was standing if front of a very large house. He didn't have time to admire the house because the moment he stepped through the gate he was surrounded. He had to sigh. At least they were doing their jobs correctly even if he wasn't the enemy. He looked at his sister with he stoic mask in place.

"Rukia how dare you draw your sword against me. And the same goes for the rest of you. I am a Captain." Byakuya glared at the people surrounding him.

"Sorry brother we are only doing our job." Rukia said putting her sword away.

"That is your first mistake, just because it really is me does not mean you should never put your sword away." Byakuya reprimanded.

"Yes, sorry brother it wont happen again." Rukia bowed.

"Captain Kuchiki why are you here if I may ask?" Shuuhei asked.

"I'm here to take the place of Vice-Captain Renji. Head Captain and me deemed him unfit to carry on this mission for now. It was to much stress for him to handle." Captain Kuchiki stated flatly.

"I see so he must have heard about Ichigo's latest episode." Rukia sighed sadly.

"Yes, he has heard of it. Now please tell me where I can find Kisuke and Captain Unohana." Captain Kuchiki demanded.

"They are at the house with Ichigo right now." Yumichika said.

"Good. Now get back to your posts." Captain Kuchiki ordered walking away.

"Man no offense but your brother can be a real ass at times." Grimmjow said making everyone jump five feet into the air.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Ikkaku asked looking at Grimmjow.

"I came from Chad's place you know Ichi's friend." Grimmjow said sarcastically.

"I know who that is but how did you get here so damn fast." Ikkaku snapped.

"I used the Espada's version of the Flash Step. It makes travel time shorter." Grimmjow snapped back.

"Enough damn it Ikkaku and Grimmjow. Don't say anything mean about my brother you ass." Rukia snapped.

"Good lord I sure can tell you are related to him." Grimmjow mumbled.

"I heard that so you have five seconds to get out of my sight before I kick your ass. I don't care if you are Ichigo's friend now." Rukia growled.

"You was meant to heard it." Grimmjow growled back.

"You now have three seconds to get out of my sight before I kick your ass." Rukia snapped.

"Fine I was leaving anyways." Grimmjow said disappearing from sight.

"Why do you have to be so mean sometimes Rukia. You know he is just as worried as the rest of us about Ichigo." Shuuhei sighed tiredly.

"I can't help it. It's how I deal with stress." Rukia sighed guiltily.

"I just wish Ichigo would hurry up and get better. I mean this is becoming really hard on all of us." Ikkaku sighed.

"I know what you mean." Shuuhei sighed.

"He will get better we just have to believe in him." Rukia growled.

Meanwhile Byakuya walked up to the door getting ready to knock when he saw something blue coming towards him. He drew his sword and turned around quickly pointing the tip of his sword under the mans chin. When he saw that is was the blue haired Espada he glared daggers at him.

"What are you doing here Espada?" Byakuya growled.

"I'm here to check up on Ichigo." Grimmjow stated.

"Why?" Byakuya asked stoically while on the inside he was confused.

"Because the idiot is my friend now." Grimmjow sighed.

"Why would he be friends with you?" Byakuya asked.

"I don't know. I just know that I want to be his friend. There is just something about him." Grimmjow said quietly.

"Fine. Let's go see how Ichigo is doing today. I heard that it was bad yesterday." Byakuya stated stoically.

Grimmjow sighed and silently agreed. Byakuya opened the door and they walked in. Grimmjow closed the door behind them. They stood there for a few minutes before Grimmjow stepped in front of Byakuya motioning for him to follow him up the stairs. Byakuya sighed and followed after him. They headed for Kisuke's and Ichigo's bedroom. When they got to the room they saw Kira sitting outside the door looking even more depressed than he usually does.

"Yo! Kira what had you looking so down?" Grimmjow asked raising an eyebrow.

"What's wrong is this whole mess. I don't know how much more Kisuke can take before he breaks from the stress. I don't know how much more Ichigo can deal with before it becomes to much for him. He hasn't woken up yet either." Kira sighed.

"Don't worry so much. Ichigo is going to pull through and Kisuke will be back to his old self in no time." Captain Unohana said opening the bedroom door and walking out of it.

"How is he doing today Captain Unohana?" Byakuya asked finally speaking up.

"He is doing just fine. I have gotten him stabilized. Hopefully he will wake up soon." Captain Unohana smiled sadly.

"Captain Kuchiki what are you doing here sir?" Kira asked shocked.

"That is what I have come to discuss with Kisuke." Byakuya stated.

"Then let me get him." Kira said getting up and walking away.

"Isn't Kisuke in the room with Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked watching Kira walk away.

"No I thought it best he sleep in a different room so that he could get some sleep and relax." Captain Unohana sighed.

"Is he taking it that bad." Byakuya asked.

"I think he is taking far worse than we really know." Unohana sighed.

"I see." Byakuya sighed.

About five minutes later Kira came back with a extremely tired looking Kisuke Urahara following him. Kisuke yawned widely not even trying to hide it. They all looked at him with varying degrees of worry. They all thought that Unohana was right and this was getting to him far worse than what they really thought it was.

"Byakuya what are you doing here?" Kisuke asked tiredly.

"I am here to replace Renji for the time being." Byakuya stated.

"Why?" Kira asked confused.

"Renji learned about what has recently happened to Ichigo and had break down. Head Captain and me agreed that it was best that he stay away for a while to get under control again before he came back to see Ichigo." Byakuya stated.

"Then he must have taken really hard then." Kira sighed sadly.

"Yes." Byakuya stated.

"We all are taking it hard but we must keep faith that he will be just fine in the end." Kisuke faked a smile.

"You are right Kisuke. By the way I have Ichigo stabilized so hopefully he will wake up either sometime today or tomorrow with any luck." Unohana smiled.

"That is the best news I have heard in awhile." Kisuke smiled for really this time.

"I thought you might like that news." Captain Unohana smiled.

"Can I see him?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes of course you can. Just keep the noise down. Byakuya, Grimmjow, and Kira you all can see him to if you want." Captain Unohana said following Kisuke into the room.

Everyone walked into the room and saw Ichigo laying peacefully on the bed. They all sighed happily about the fact that he was going to pull through this little mess anyways. Now if they could only figure out how to get him over the hump to recover from what Aizen did to him. They all looked away for a few minutes to see what Captain Unohana was doing so they didn't notice when dull honey brown eyes opened. They all jumped when they heard Ichigo say something.

"Kisuke." Ichigo said sitting up in the bed.

"Ichigo." Kisuke said jumping and looking at the bed.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Well you have been in a coma for about a week after you tried to kill yourself." Captain Unohana stated kindly.

"Oh." Ichigo sighed.

"But you will make a full recovery from that." Captain Unohana smiled.

"That's good. I have been talking to Old Man Zangetsu and Shiro." Ichigo stated.

"What have you been talking about?" Kisuke asked.

"They say that it is time that I start moving past what happened." Ichigo stated.

"Well what do think?" Kira asked hopefully.

"I think…I think that they are right." Ichigo looked up at them with a real smile.

Everyone in the room was in stunned shock. They didn't know what to think. They was overly happy that he was going to start recovering from what happened. They was also extremely happy to see Ichigo smile for the first time since they first got the house.

"We are right here to help you in anyway that we can Ichigo." Captain Unohana smiled trying to fight back her tears of joy.

"Yes, we will do anything to help." Byakuya stated.

"Byakuya why the hell are you here. Where is Renji?" Ichigo asked confused.

"I am here to take Renji's place for awhile. Renji is still in Soul Society. After he heard about your recent accident he had a break down. Head Captain and me both decided that he take a break to get under control again before he saw you again. Hopefully the next time he sees you, you will be more recovered than when he left." Byakuya gave a small smile.

"The world is coming to an end the great Byakuya Kuchiki smiled at me." Ichigo laughed happily.

"Yes I do believe you are right Ichigo." Kisuke laughed happily with Ichigo.

"I really want to get better. I don't want to feel empty anymore." Ichigo looked at them with a smile.

"We will be here to help you every step of the way Ichi." Grimmjow smiled seeing the old Ichigo shining through finally.

"Thanks. By the way where is everyone else?" Ichigo asked.

"They are outside keeping watch." Kira said.

"Well you can tell them to come in." Ichigo stated.

"Are you sure you are ready to see everyone?" Kisuke asked worriedly.

"Yes. I want to see everyone. I want them to know that there is nothing to worry about." Ichigo sighed.

"Fine if you are sure about this. Grimmjow will you go round everyone up please, but don't tell them why." Kisuke said looking at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow nodded and walked out of the room taking one more look at Ichigo before disappearing out of the room altogether. Everyone else looked at each other wondering if this was such a good idea so soon after he woke up from the coma. But they also knew that they would never deny Ichigo anything he wanted.

"Look guys I know I'm not completely better. I also know that it will still take some time to get back to how I was before, but trust me I know my limits and if I feel myself slipping I will let you all know." Ichigo said looking at them with hopeful eyes.

"I have to agree with Ichigo on this. He usually does know his limits. Besides we will all be there so if something happens we will be there to help." Kira said trying to help Ichigo.

"Yes, but I will be keeping a close eye on you Kurosaki. If I think this is becoming to much I'm going to send everyone out. Do not forget you just woke up from a coma. You still need to rest and recover from that and everything else that has happened." Captain Unohana said sternly.

"Yes I understand Unohana." Ichigo said with a sheepish smile.

"I will be right here beside you Ichigo." Kisuke said sitting on the bed next to Ichigo with a loving smile.

"Thanks Kisuke." Ichigo smile back just as lovingly.

"I'm glad I have such great friends by my side. I know that there is things that are going to take time to heal. I don't want people to touch me unless it is Kisuke, Captain Unohana, and on occasion Kira. I'm just not ready for people to touch me." Ichigo sighed sadly.

"We all understand that Ichigo. We do not want to put back in that lifeless state again. We also now that you might slip back into that state at times, but we will be here to help out of it." Kisuke smiled.

"I know I just hope that I can fix myself before it is to late." Ichigo sighed looking away from everyone.

"What do you mean Ichigo?" Byakuya asked slightly worried.

"I have seen the state of my inner world. It's not good and maybe getting worse unless I can fix myself. I told Old Man Zangetsu and Shiro that I would work hard to fix the mess I have caused them and everyone around me." Ichigo sighed.

"Do not worry Ichigo nothing is going to happen. You will be just fine I promise." Kisuke smiled.

"When you say it like that I want you believe you with all my heart." Ichigo smiled a little.

"Then just believe it. I would not lie to you about this." Kisuke laughed.

"If you want me to believe you then you shouldn't laugh Kisuke." Ichigo laughed too.

"Sorry but you know me I don't want things to get to serious. I hate serious." Kisuke laughed.

"Yes we all know that. I don't think there is a serious bone in your body." Ichigo laughed.

"I'm not so sure about that." Kisuke mumbled.

"Speak up I didn't catch that." Ichigo said looking at Kisuke.

"I didn't say anything." Kisuke stuck out his tongue.

"Keep that tongue out and I just might have to bite it." Ichigo growled.

"I might like that." Kisuke smirked.

"Man you are such a pervert." Ichigo whined.

"But you love me." Kisuke smiled.

"Who said that. I don't remember say such a thing." Ichigo said.

"You did say that. How can you not remember saying that. Don't you love me?" Kisuke whined taking Ichigo seriously.

"Do I. I don't know. Who could love such a huge pervert who whines all the time?" Ichigo asked pretending to be serious.

"Who wouldn't love a pervert. I'm your pervert. I don't want to be perverted with anyone else." Kisuke whined some more.

"I don't know. I think I love Kira more." Ichigo said.

"Ichigo please leave me out of this. I love someone else. Besides I don't see you loving anyone but Kisuke." Kira said also taking Ichigo seriously.

"Oh man you should see you alls faces. Its hysterical." Ichigo laughed rolling from side to side on the bed.

"That wasn't funny Ichigo I really thought you didn't love me anymore." Kisuke pouted.

"Awww I'm sorry Kisuke. I really don't love anyone as much as I love you. You have my heart as long as we both shall live." Ichigo said kissing Kisuke.

"I feel the same way Ichi." Kisuke said kissing back.

Someone cleared their throat to get everyone's attention. When they looked towards the sound they saw everyone from outside standing in the door way. They all had shocked faces but Grimmjow since he knew what was going on. Everyone looked from Ichigo to Kisuke trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Okay. What the hell is going on?" Rukia asked confused.

"Ichigo here just woke up and he wanted to see everyone." Kisuke said pointing at Ichigo.

"But I thought we was told to stay away from him." Yumichika stated looking really confused.

"Yeah well I thought that was such a stupid rule." Ichigo said with his head bowed so they couldn't see his face.

"Why would you want to see us when you still haven't recovered?" Ikkaku asked curiously.

"Because I just want you all to know that I'm ready to get past what has happened. I would also like to ask for you alls help in doing that." Ichigo said looking up at them with his huge smile on his face.

Everyone that had just walked in what stunned. Their Ichigo was coming back to them. They all agreed that they would help in anyway that they could. Their hope had come back full force and they wasn't going to let it slip away from them this time. They was so happy to see his smile back even though his eyes still looked a little lifeless. But this was just a start. Now all they had to do was wait and help him recover and they could all go back to Soul Society together and be one big happy family. Then everyone heard sobbing and looked around. That's when they all noticed Rukia was the one sobbing.

"Rukia what's wrong?" Ichigo asked worried.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just really happy." Rukia said trying to stop the tears.

"Ichigo she is just really happy to have her closest friend back. She has been really worried about you." Kisuke said smiling.

"I see. Rukia come here." Ichigo said waving for Rukia to come over to him.

Rukia walked over to Ichigo still trying to stop the tears. "Yes Ichigo."

"I promise I'm not going to make you worry about me anymore. I will become stronger and stronger until you don't have to worry about me okay. I don't ever want to see you crying over me again." Ichigo said and giving her a huge hug much to everyone's surprise.

Rukia was so stunned that the tears stopped. Then she hugged him back. "No matter how strong you are I will always worry about you. You are like a brother to me so of course I will always worry about you."

"And you are like a sister to me. I will always be there for you. I'm not going to leave for a very long time." Ichigo smiled letting her go.

"If you ever leave I will hunt you down and kick your sorry ass back." Rukia stated.

"And that is why I'm not going anywhere ever. Your kicks and punches hurt like hell. I don't wish that on anybody." Ichigo laughed and looking a little tired.

Unohana saw that he was starting to look tired. He did still need his rest after what just happened.

"Okay everyone it's time for everyone to leave. Ichigo still needs his rest. You all can talk tomorrow after everyone has had a good rest. Kisuke you can stay in here again. Everyone else it's time to go." Captain Unohana said with one of her scary smiles that had everyone running out of the room including Byakuya.

"See you all tomorrow." Ichigo yelled at the people running away.

* * *

**Sorry that it took longer than a week. i had to go out of town before i could finish and post it.**

**Sorry if the recovery seems rushed, but i'm really wanting to get to where everyone is in Soul Society. Sorry if the chapter seemed to short the rest should be longer.**

**It really starts to get good from here. It might take me some time to get the next chapter up but it should be worth it i hope. ^^**

**Please Review and let me now how the chapter was.**


	8. Not a chapter

**Sorry everyone that's its taking so long to get the next chapter out. I was having a bit of writers block, but that's fixed now so the chapter should be up by the end of the month if not the beginning of next month it just depends on how long it takes me to get it typed.**


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